Cho, Y.-H. orcid.org/0000-0001-9035-4395, Heung, G., Bobrov, Y. et al. (4 more authors) (2024) SunbYte: an autonomous pointing framework for low-cost robotic solar telescopes on high altitude balloons. Experimental Astronomy, 57 (3). 27. ISSN 0922-6435
Abstract
The design and usability of a fully autonomous robotic control system (SunbYte - Sheffield University Balloon “lYfted” TElescope) for solar tracking and observational applications onboard high-altitude balloons are addressed here. The design is based on a six-step development plan balancing scientific objectives and practical engineering requirements. The high-altitude solar observational system includes low-cost components such as a Cassegrain-type telescope, stepper motors, harmonic drives, USB cameras and microprocessors. OpenCV installed from ROS (Robotic Operating System), python and C facilitated the collection, compression, and processing of housekeeping and scientific data. This processed data was then transmitted to the ground station through the launch vehicle’s telecommunication link. The SunbYte system allows the brightest spot in the sky, the sun, to be identified, and a telescope pointed towards it with high enough accuracy that a scientific camera can capture images. This paper gathers and presents the results from primarily two missions with the High-Altitude Student Platform (HASP, NASA Balloon Program office and LaSpace). Additionally, a discussion will be made comparing these with an earlier iteration flown with the German-Swedish “REXUS/BEXUS” programme coordinated by the European Space Agency. By capturing and analysing a series of tracking images with the location of the Sun at the calibrated centre, the system demonstrated the tracking capabilities on an unstable balloon during ascent. Housekeeping sensor data was collected to further analyse the thermal and mechanical performance. The low temperature increased friction in the drive train and reduced the responsiveness of the harmonic drive actuation system. This caused some issues which require further work in future missions, for example, with SunbYte 4 and its work when flying with the HEMERA ZPB (Zero Pressure Balloon) program.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | ©2024 The author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
Keywords: | Solar telescopes; Robotic tracking system; High altitude balloon |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Mathematics and Statistics (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Civil and Structural Engineering (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 04 Jul 2024 12:56 |
Last Modified: | 04 Jul 2024 12:56 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s10686-024-09944-w |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:214212 |