This past summer the Utah State University Get Away Special Microgravity Research Team tested several of their prototypes on high altitude balloons. They had a total of four balloon launches were they collected a variety of data. Their primary purpose was to test their passive stabilization mechanism called the Aeroboom

Sojka, Jan J.

Team, Get Away Special

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HAPCAD,  Pro to type  fo r  the  GASPACS Aeroboom Dep loymentGet Away Spec ia l Mic rogravity Research TeamDr.  Jan Sojka,  Faculty  MentorUSU Department o f  Phys ics,  USU College of  Engineering High Altitude Balloon LaunchDEPARTMENT OF PHYSICSAcknowledgementsAeroboom Open SPACONCLUSIOSThis past summer the Utah State University GetAway Special Microgravity Research Team testedseveral of their prototypes on high altitudeballoons. They had a total of four balloon launcheswere they collected a variety of data. Their primarypurpose was to test their passive stabilizationmechanism called the Aeroboom.Funding and support for this project came from theUtah State University Physics department, SpaceDynamics Laboratory, and Dr. Gil Moore.Vacuum ChamberIn order to test prototype before sending them onhigh altitude balloon launches the Get Away SpecialTeam designed and built a vacuum chamber. Thisallows them to put the Aeroboom through a seriesof test and improve the overall quality and design.The new vacuum chamber is large enough to placethe whole payload inside off allowing for test of theentire system.During the past year the Get Away Special Microgravity Research Team put theoriginal design of the Aeroboom through a series of test. This process reveled severalerrors in the design. They spent the last school year trying fixed the problems theyuncovered and have improved the design.After fixing the seal, air was still getting into the outer boom. During the assemblyprocess the outer boom is vacuumed out so this was concerning. One possibility thatwas considered, was that the epoxy was outgassing. Several test were run on theepoxy to better understand it; however, the mechanical team plans on continuingtest the epoxy this summer.The first error in the design they discovered was the seal. The previous seal was easyto stretch, rip, and break. To solve this problem they wrap the teflon in kapton tapebefore creating the seal. This stops the teflon from stretching, ripping, and breaking.It was also considered that the teflon used for the inner boom was too permeable.To help solve this problem the entire inner boom was wrapped in teflon. This createdtwo layers of material between the inner and outer boom and significantlydecreased the amount of air found in the outer boom.Open Space Plug and Play Architecture. The Get Away Special team has taken it upon themselves to implement space software that would be open and available to anyone who desired a quick and easy way to implement their mission. Without having to re-invent the wheel every time. It was inspired after having written many versions of HAPCAD. At least 3 versions of HAPCAD were written for the same mission, later nicknamed Errno. OpenSPA is to be the solution, so that more time could be focused on the electrical and mechanical side of things rather than spending time re-writing the software every time. 

HAPCAD, Prototype for the GASPACS Aeroboom Deployment

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1486&amp;context=spacegrant

HAPCAD, Prototype for the GASPACS Aeroboom Deployment

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