Design optimisation and flight validation of a stratospheric descent low cost probe in scientific balloon missions

This paper summarises the activities conducted at CISAS - University of Padova in designing and optimising a low cost scientific probe to be used in earth atmospheric descents from balloon reached stratospheric altitudes of around 40 kilometre. As part of the collaboration with Italian Space Agency on HASI instrument for Huygens mission, University of Padova has been conducting for several years a scientific balloon launch activity from Italian Space Agency Stratospheric Balloon Launch base in Trapani Milo, Sicily. The expertise and know how achieved during these years have contributed to building a strong and confident engineering team able to cope with the different and challenging requirements of boomerang mode balloon missions, which range from thermal and mechanical environmental issues to electronics design, system integration and data handling. Design of the probe used in 2003 is here presented, focusing on mechanical, electronic, thermal and fluidodynamic optimisations conducted in order to increase available space for payloads, guarantee accessibility and maintainability of subsystems and improve performance during foreseen mission operations. Overview of the 2003 flight then presented underlying the successful operation of the system in acquiring its 84 sensor channels of 12 different scientific instruments , sampled during ascent, drift and descent phase.