4 research outputs found
PEGASO: LONG DURATION BALLOONS FROM NORTH POLE
In a joint effort, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and Andoya Rocket Range (ARR) have initiated the
development of a European balloon center in Svalbard, Norway that is an ideal location for performing Long
Duration Balloon (LDB) flights. After the identification of the launch location several light balloon flights have
been performed since 2003. The 2004 campaign utilized a 10000 m³ balloon produced for the program by
Aerostar of Sulfur Springs, Texas USA. This flight lasted 40 days and was an excellent test of the small
PEGASO payload, developed (for use in Antarctica) by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology
(INGV) with the PNRA (Progetto Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide) sponsorship. This payload uses an
IRIDIUM based bi-directional telemetry system. During summer 2005 two flights have been performed using
balloons of the same size. They carried an updated telemetry and a scientific payload which analyzed the
magnetic field of the Earth. The Institute of Information Science and Technology (ISTI-CNR) team computed
predictions of the balloons trajectories, both before and during flights, as well as statistical evaluations of the
seasonal flight windows at the beginning of the ASI LDB program. The 2004 and 2005 missions have been
defined to investigate the stratospheric winds structure and they tested the possibility for future heavy LDB
flights. The Italian scientific community foresees this kind of missions from 2007-2008 campaigns.
Next sections, starting from a general overview of the Italian LDB program, give the description of the Pegaso
flights and, in particular, the adopted technical solutions for the on-board and ground-based equipments.PublishedVOLTERRA, PISA1.10. TTC - Telerilevamentoope
PEGASO: LONG DURATION BALLOONS FROM NORTH POLE
In a joint effort, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and Andoya Rocket Range (ARR) have initiated the
development of a European balloon center in Svalbard, Norway that is an ideal location for performing Long
Duration Balloon (LDB) flights. After the identification of the launch location several light balloon flights have
been performed since 2003. The 2004 campaign utilized a 10000 m³ balloon produced for the program by
Aerostar of Sulfur Springs, Texas USA. This flight lasted 40 days and was an excellent test of the small
PEGASO payload, developed (for use in Antarctica) by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology
(INGV) with the PNRA (Progetto Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide) sponsorship. This payload uses an
IRIDIUM based bi-directional telemetry system. During summer 2005 two flights have been performed using
balloons of the same size. They carried an updated telemetry and a scientific payload which analyzed the
magnetic field of the Earth. The Institute of Information Science and Technology (ISTI-CNR) team computed
predictions of the balloons trajectories, both before and during flights, as well as statistical evaluations of the
seasonal flight windows at the beginning of the ASI LDB program. The 2004 and 2005 missions have been
defined to investigate the stratospheric winds structure and they tested the possibility for future heavy LDB
flights. The Italian scientific community foresees this kind of missions from 2007-2008 campaigns.
Next sections, starting from a general overview of the Italian LDB program, give the description of the Pegaso
flights and, in particular, the adopted technical solutions for the on-board and ground-based equipments
PEGASO: An ultra light long duration stratospheric payload for polar regions flights
Stratospheric balloons are powerful and affordable tools for a wide spectrum of scientific investigations that are carried out at the
stratosphere level. They are less expensive compared to satellite projects and have the capability to lift payloads from a few kilograms
to a couple of tons or more, well above the troposphere, for more than a month. Another interesting feature of these balloons, which is
not viable in satellites, is the short turnaround time, which enables frequent flights.
We introduce the PEGASO (Polar Explorer for Geomagnetism And other Scientific Observations) project, a stratospheric payload
designed and developed by the INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia), Rome and La Sapienza University, Rome. The
project was sponsored by the PNRA (Progetto Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide), Italy (Peterzen et al., 2003). This light payload
(10 kg) was used by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and Andoya Rocket Range (ARR) for five different scientific missions.
PEGASO carries a 3-component flux-gate magnetometer, uses a solar cell array as the power source and has a GPS location system.
The bi-directional telemetry system for data transfer and the remote control system were IRIDIUM base
PEGASO: An ultra light long duration stratospheric payload for polar regions flights
Stratospheric balloons are powerful and affordable tools for a wide spectrum of scientific investigations that are carried out at the stratosphere level. They are less expensive compared to satellite projects and have the capability to lift payloads from a few kilograms to a couple of tons or more, well above the troposphere, for more than a month. Another interesting feature of these balloons, which is not viable in satellites, is the short turnaround time, which enables frequent flights. We introduce the PEGASO (Polar Explorer for Geomagnetism And other Scientific Observations) project, a stratospheric payload designed and developed by the INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia), Rome and La Sapienza University, Rome. The project was sponsored by the PNRA (Progetto Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide), Italy (Peterzen et al., 2003). This light payload (10 kg) was used by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and Andoya Rocket Range (ARR) for five different scientific missions. PEGASO carries a 3-component flux-gate magnetometer, uses a solar cell array as the power source and has a GPS location system. The bi-directional telemetry system for data transfer and the remote control system were IRIDIUM based. © 2007 COSPAR