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Large amounts of data collected by today\u2019s sensitive science instruments present a data-handling challenge to small rocket and balloon suborbital mission computing and avionics systems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Large amounts of data collected by today\u2019s sensitive science instruments present a data-handling challenge to small rocket and balloon mission computing systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust generally, science payloads are getting larger and more complex,\u201d said astrophysicist Alan Kogut, of NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. \u201cYou\u2019re always pushing the limit of what can be done, and getting their data back quickly is clearly a high priority for the balloon science community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suborbital science platforms provide low-cost, quick-turnaround test opportunities to study Earth, our solar system, and the universe. Engineers at NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia are developing new, higher-capacity systems to process, store, and transmit that data using the IRAD Internal Research and Development Program.<\/p>\n
One high-data effort, Kogut said, requires new types of sensors to capture faint patterns within the cosmic microwave background: the oldest light in the cosmos, which was produced 380,000 years after the big bang, when the universe had cooled enough to form the first atoms.<\/p>\n
Capturing the polarization \u2014 the orientation of this light relative to its path of travel \u2014 should show patterns from the original quantum state of the universe, he explained. If seen, these patterns could point the way to a quantum theory of gravity: something beyond Einstein\u2019s general theory of relativity.<\/p>\n
\u201cObserving this polarization takes a lot of data,\u201d Kogut said. \u201cThe results are limited by noise in any individual detector, so scientists are looking to fly as many as 10,000 detectors on a balloon to minimize that noise.\u201d<\/p>\n
While a high-altitude balloon floating high above the clouds is an ideal place for missions to stare into space without disturbances from Earth\u2019s atmosphere, it\u2019s also a good place to be hit by cosmic rays that our atmosphere filters out, he explained. These high-energy particles spatter throughout the balloon payload\u2019s solid structures, producing unwanted signals \u2014 noise \u2014 in the detectors.<\/p>\n
Faster, Lighter, Less Expensive<\/strong><\/p>\n The CASBa, Comprehensive Avionic System for Balloons, aims to replace a system originally developed in the 1980s, said Sarah Wright, suborbital technology lead at NASA Wallops. CASBa will capture, process, and transmit gigabytes rather than the megabytes capacity of the current system. Building it around commercially supplied computer cores also keeps mission costs down while reducing mass, Wright added.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is the essence of sounding rocket and balloon science,\u201d she said. \u201cIf it\u2019s relatively inexpensive and off-the-shelf, scientists could put more resources into developing the science package.\u201d<\/p>\n CASBa will provide a variety of options and configurations for different mission needs, she said and will work with the core Flight System operating software developed at NASA Goddard.<\/p>\n Once proven on a balloon flight this summer, a sounding rocket version will be tested in 2025. Additional IRAD projects seek to develop more efficient power-switching electronics and higher-data-rate transmission capabilities which, taken together, complete the computing and download capacity overhaul.<\/p>\n Engineer Ted Daisey leads the IRAD effort to integrate a commercially available computer the size of a credit card into their control module.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re building this around a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, which is an industrial product intended for embedded systems,\u201d Daisey said, \u201cso it\u2019s going to be very cost-effective for suborbital projects we do here at Wallops.\u201d<\/p>\n Engineer Scott Hesh is developing the power switching unit to complement the Raspberry Pi CM4 computer. He described it as a modular switch that distributes the system\u2019s power supply between up to eight different hardware systems. It uses programmable software \u201cfuses\u201d to protect components from overheating as well as hardware fuses to protect the power switching unit.<\/p>\n \u201cThe avionics package takes a little less space and less mass than a current sounding rocket system,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a game changer when it comes to implementing avionics and communication. Each module measures approximately 8 by 6 inches, which is much smaller compared to our current balloon systems.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis whole 21st<\/sup> century avionics system was designed based on our Wallops philosophy of fast, agile, and cost-effective solutions for our suborbital platforms,\u201d Hesh added.<\/p>\n