Remote data communications and command system

Scientific ballooning missions in the continental United States have traditionally been limited in flight time due to the loss of local telemetry capability as the payload drifts beyond the horizon. A Remote Data Communications & Command System has been developed by the NSBF which allows both the recovery and display of limited real-time data and complete command control of a balloon payload that is within the telemetry horizon of a remote station. The general capabilities of this system are discussed here from the standpoint of two virtual systems which can be used independently or together as a single system.     

Telemetry,telecommand and safety sub-systems for scientific ballooning from Hyderabad

Highly sophisticated balloon-borne scientific payloads have stringent requirement on the telemetry and command system. The development and fabrication of the on-board TT&C package for telemetry, tracking, command, safety and ranging for these experiments is done in-house at the National Balloon Facility (NBF) at Hyderabad. In the last few years, we have made major improvements both in the ground station and the on-board sub-systems, thereby improving the data quality, data handling speed and the general flight control along with aviation safety. The new system has telemetry data rate up to 1 Mbps. A reduction in weight, power and cost of the reengineered on-board integrated package has also lead to the ease of operation during field tests prior to launch and at remote recovery sites. In this paper, we describe the details of the new control package, its flight performance and our plans for portable S-band telemetry and telecommand system to cater to the balloon flights from Antarctic station and long duration balloon flights.     

Feasibility study of a sea-anchored stratospheric balloon for long-duration flights

Sea-anchored balloons are stratospheric super-pressure balloons that are anchored to the sea. The sea-anchored balloon is a simple system that has the capability for long-duration flights, fixed-point observations, flexible launch windows, easy telemetry links to ground stations, and quick recoveries. Such balloons are not required to fly through the jet stream while tethered to the ground or sea, because the tether is deployed from a reel on the balloon after reaching a floating altitude. In this study, the feasibility of the sea-anchored balloon is investigated, with particular emphasis on the tether strength, balloon altitude, and system mass, based on the present technological level of the tether’s specific strength. Although the wind distribution with altitude is a dominant factor for feasibility, a sea-anchored balloon with an altitude of about 25 km would be feasible if the velocity of the jet stream is sufficiently low. The sea-anchored balloon can be simply flight-tested, since additional ground facilities and special flight operations are not necessary.     

Development of balloon technology in China

The first stage in the development of the Chinese scientific balloon facility, commenced in 1979, has been completed successfully. The targets of the second stage, started in 1985 are: increasing balloon volume up to 4×10⁵M³ and payload carrying capacity 1000–1500 kg.; long duration flights from Beijing to the Gobi region in North west China; developing a new telemetry and telecommand system.In this paper we present the recent progress in China on balloon materials, balloon design and manufacture procedures, launch and recovery techniques, telemetry and telecommand facilities etc.     

WAAS卫星播发电文一致性分析

星基增强系统(SBAS)是在传统GNSS的基础上为了进一步满足民航用户对卫星导航系统越来越高的精度、完好性、连续性和可用性需求而应运而生.目前全球已建立起了多个SBAS系统,其中提供服务时间最长的是美国的WAAS系统.WAAS系统包括38个参考站、3个主控站、6个上注站和3颗GEO卫星,每个参考站配备3套独立的监测接收...     

Systems for long duration flights

This paper describes the systems for long duration flights developed in Japan for scientific observations. Much efforts have been expended to evolve systems for long duration flights in Japan, by controlling the balloon trajectories with a knowledge of wind pattern at high altitudes over Japan. These systems called “Cycling Balloon”, “Boomerang Balloon” and “New Boomerang Balloon” have been successfully used for the observations by keeping the balloons close to the balloon station.“Relay Balloon” is another system to extend the telemetry range by using an additional balloon as a relay station to link the telemetry from the main balloon.Some detailes of the exhaust valve, ascent meter and automatic level control devices used for the balloon control are also described in the paper.     

Navigation for balloon payloads: Recent experience with OMEGA in the US and a new slant range system

The replacement of OMEGA station G from Trinidad to Australia has recently caused some problems for balloon navigation in the United States. We report on recent experience with OMEGA during a balloon flight of the hard X-ray astronomy payload HEXE¹⁾ from Palestine, Texas on September 28/29, 1981. In this flight three different OMEGA receivers were used. In view of the degraded receiving conditions for OMEGA we have developed a simple slant range system which may easily be adapted to other standard PCM systems. We show that a combination of range, azimuth and one OMEGA line of position (e.g. C-D) provides reasonably accurate balloon positions.     

Scientific ballooning in India – Recent developments

Established in 1971, the National Balloon Facility operated by TIFR in Hyderabad, India, is a unique facility in the country, which provides a complete solution in scientific ballooning. It is also one of its kind in the world since it combines both, the in-house balloon production and a complete flight support for scientific ballooning. With a large team working through out the year to design, fabricate and launch scientific balloons, the Hyderabad Facility is a unique centre of expertise where the balloon design, research and development, the production and launch facilities are located under one roof. Our balloons are manufactured from 100% indigenous components. The mission specific balloon design, high reliability control and support instrumentation, in-house competence in tracking, telemetry, telecommand, data processing, system design and mechanics is its hallmark. In the past few years, we have executed a major programme of upgradation of different components of balloon production, telemetry and telecommand hardware and various support facilities. This paper focuses on our increased capability of balloon production of large sizes up to 780,000 m³ using Antrix film, development of high strength balloon load tapes with the breaking strength of 182 kg, and the recent introduction of S-band telemetry and a commandable timer cut-off unit in the flight hardware. A summary of the various flights conducted in recent years will be presented along with the plans for new facilities.     

微处理机遥测数据接收处理系统

<正> 一、引言在具有数据压缩功能的遥测系统中,某一采样时刻的数据是否需要传输是随机的,这就有可能导致传输帧的不等长性,给接收端的同步造成了一定的困难。为了与原有的接收设备兼容,通常将经过压缩处理后的数据在形式上排列等长的传输帧,来解决帧同步问题。这种等长的压缩帧所包含的实际内容却千差万别,必须使用计算机进行分路、解压后,才能恢复     

Comparison of time-periodic variations in temperature and wind from meteorological rockets and satellites

Although the Meteorological Rocket Network operated by or in cooperation with the United States has decreased from fourteen to nine stations in the past five years, there have been many observations accumulated in the ten years since CIRA 1972 was prepared with data up to 1969. The mean, annual and semiannual variations of temperature and wind are presented and special attention is directed to the polar semiannual wave. The results are compared with the Oxford SCR-PMR five-year data set, the CDC-SCR seven-year data, and CIRA 1972 with respect to both temperature and zonal winds, as far as presently available. The agreement among the data sets is very good.     

同温层气球平台反向定位系统的研究

反向定位系统是针对驻留型同温层气球平台的一种新型定位系统 ,该系统的基本原理是由接收站的位置计算得出发射机的位置。文章采用卡尔曼滤波的方法 ,建立了反向定位系统的模型 ,给出其滤波算法 ;鉴于地面接收站的位置选择对该系统的定位精度有较大的影响 ,给出地面站选址依据 ,并通过计算、仿真获得一组较为理想的布站方式。此外 ,钟差是系统的一个主要误差源 ,文中对其引起的定位误差进行了分析 ,并给出估算的方法 ;对系统中的传播误差、设备误差也进行了分析。最后 ,对系统建立了仿真模型进行仿真。结果表明 ,该定位系统具有较好的定位精度     

Passepartout Sherpa – A low-cost,reusable transportation system into the stratosphere for small experiments

The Passepartout sounding balloon transportation system for low-mass (<$<$1200 g) experiments or hardware for validation to an altitude of 35 km is described. We present the general flight configuration, set-up of the flight control system, environmental and position sensors, power system, buoyancy considerations as well as the ground control infrastructure including recovery operations. In the telemetry and command module the integrated airborne computer is able to control the experiment, transmit telemetry and environmental data and allows for a duplex communication to a control centre for tele-commanding. The experiment module is mounted below the telemetry and command module and can either work as a standalone system or be controlled by the airborne computer. This spacing between experiment- and control unit allows for a high flexibility in the experiment design. After a parachute landing, the on-board satellite based recovery subsystems allow for a rapid tracking and recovery of the telemetry and command module and the experiment. We discuss flight data and lessons learned from two representative flights with research payloads.     

U.S. planetary protection program: Implementation highlights

The implementation of planetary protection in the United States space program has reflected the trend in policy from an absolute to a probabilistic prohibition of the contamination of the celestial bodies of the solar system. The early emphasis on spacecraft sterilization (e.g. Ranger) was replaced by the imposition of contamination control procedures on later missions such as Pioneer, Viking, and Voyager. Similarly, analytical and laboratory techniques were developed to demonstrate compliance with probabilistic requirements. Microbial burden reduction methods that are not hazardous for spacecraft reliability supplanted the abstract concept of sterilization. The United States implementation of planetary protection has been completely successful. In an exploration program that has included Mercury, Venus, Mars, the Jovian system, and the Saturnian system, there have been no accidental impacts or detection of false positives (terrestrial microbes). Further, the contamination control and microbial burden procedures have proved beneficial to spacecraft systems and on-board science instruments. We review in this paper the implementation of planetary protection procedures by the Pioneer (10 and 11), Viking and Voyager projects.     

Present status and new trends in scientific ballooning in India

The efforts in scientific ballooning in India have always been focussed towards continuous upgrading of capabilities in all aspects of balloon flights - balloon material, balloon fabrication, launch techniques, heavy payload launch, telemetry, telecommand and other ground facilities - to meet the growing demands of the scientific community. A brief account of recent progress in several of these aspects and future plans for further improvements in scientific ballooning capability is presented.     

太阳帆板平面度测量系统

介绍了一种采用斜光学三角形测量结构和基于虚拟精密测量基准的太阳帆板平面度无接触测量系统.首次提出斜光学三角形测量结构,使得测量系统的测量面积和分辨率大大提高,从而实现了对大面积平面平面度的高精度无接触测量.提出的虚拟精密基准的建模与误差补偿技术,解决了在非精密基准上实现精密测量这一难题,使得所研制的测量系统利用现有平台可实现对太阳帆板平面度的高精度测量.此外,对测量光斑位置估值精度与光斑图像尺寸大小和能量分布之间的定量关系进行了分析,为激光光斑的优化设计提供了理论依据.实际测量结果表明,该测量系统对面积为2581mm×1755mm太阳帆板的平面度测量精度达0.02mm(RMS).     

Contemporary plate motions from Lageos: A decade later

Reduction of a decade's worth of Lageos Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) is providing new insights into contemporary plate kinematics. Globally, the SLR results have largely confirmed the plate motion models developed from geologic evidence. Analysis of the data from 12 base stations finds all interstation SLR rates having a linear cross correlation of .91 with the Minster and Jordan geologic model. To within their uncertainties, the time scales of the geologic and SLR models are found to be in agreement indicating that globally, the tectonic rates are linear over time scales of 1 to 10 million years. Regionally, SLR data exclusively has been used to develop a model of the absolute station motions for observing sites within the Western United States. The observed intersite motion of the two stations comprising the San Andreas Fault Experiment appears to be non-linear over the last decade, with the relative motion between these sites changing from −6 to −2 cm/year during the last four years. The results achieved with SLR are complemented and largely confirmed by those achieved with other space technologies. It is clear that Satellite Laser Ranging has reached a new level of maturity. After passing through the threshold of confirming the global nature of plate kinematics, research is now focusing on the development of models for the effective utilization of the constraints provided by space geodesy. These constraints will assist in our understanding of the mechanisms which drive tectonic motions and cause a complex picture of strain accumulation at the plate boundaries.     

Properties of tandem balloons connected by extendable suspension wires

The tandem balloon system has been known as a candidate system for long duration flight balloons. In this paper, the properties of the system are analytically studied in a new way by introducing an extendable suspension wire in the Sky Anchor configuration, which consists of a zero-pressure main balloon suspending a payload and a super-pressure balloon suspended below the payload. It was found that extension of the suspension wire between the payload and the super-pressure balloon can extend the capability of the tandem system; the altitude of the zero-pressure balloon can be changed without any consumables except some energy, and the day–night oscillation of the balloon altitude can be suppressed. This property is useful as the vehicle for long duration flights. It is also pointed out that the method to control the altitude of a balloon using an additional suspended super-pressure balloon can also be applied for super-pressure balloons.     

基于WAAS监测数据的精度和完好性参数解算

美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）建设的广域增强系统（WAAS）通过对全球定位系统（GPS）所需导航性能（RNP）的全面增强,目前已能在WAAS服务区的绝大部分空域支持从航路到具有垂直引导满足航向信标性能（LPV）-200进近的RNP.本文给出了WAAS报文的解码过程,结合WAAS广播报文阐述了精度和完好性参数的解算处理过程.选取美国阿拉斯加州和美国本土34个WAAS监测站的实测数据,按该处理流程解算出精度和完好性参数.结果表明,所选监测站位置的精度和完好性解算结果与美国国家卫星测试台（NSTB）公布的统计数据基本吻合,验证了报文解码以及参数提取算法和流程的正确性.WAAS精度和完好性参数解算处理流程可为中国北斗星基增强系统（BDSBAS）建设提供借鉴和参考.      

芯片级原子钟数字温控系统设计

随着美国国防部先进项目研究局(Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency,DARPA)对微型定位导航授时技术的提出以及无人驾驶技术的发展,芯片级原子钟的市场越来越受到重视。稳定度是衡量芯片级原子钟性能的关键指标,而温度又是影响芯片级原子钟稳定度指标的重要因素,因此高精度的温控系统是芯片级原子钟稳定度的保障。设计了一种高精度的数字温度控制系统,控温精度为2m K。经过对比测试,使用该系统的芯片级原子钟稳定度较以前有了较大的改善,千秒稳定度从7.57×10~(-12)提高到4.99×10~(-12),处于世界先进水平。     

可编程存贮器在星上遥测仿真信号源中的应用

介绍了利用新型的电可擦除可编程只读存贮器以及一些辅助电路组成一个遥测系统仿真信号源的数据流产生系统。该系统首先依据遥测系统所需信号,在计算机上进行编程,利用计算机辅助设计,产生出符合要求的遥测仿真数据以及数据格式。通过E~2PROM 编程卡,将仿真数据及格式写入到E~2PROM 可编程存贮器中,实现了遥测仿真数据流可编程设计和自动生成。实际应用表明:该系统较好地解决了以往信号源中数据流产生电路复杂、通用性差、灵活性差、修改数据流的数据和格式不方便等问题;此外,数据流的可靠性和稳定性大大提高,更好地满足遥测系统的要求。