Utilizing High Altitude Balloons as a Low-Cost CubeSat Test Platform

Abstract

While building and launching a CubeSat is lower in cost compared to a standard satellite, verifying the flight-readiness of CubeSat hardware and software prior to launch remains a costly and time-consuming process. During the summer of 2019, student-interns under the Innovation to Flight (i2F) program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) utilized high altitude balloons (HAB) as a means of performing preverification tests on an in-house built 6U CubeSat bus and mock internal payload. The team also tested a Qualcomm Snapdragon flight computer onboard the a HAB, as the computer's first high-altitude tech demonstration. The entire flight vehicle was designed to simulate a generic JPL 6U CubeSat to be flown on the Zephyrus X HAB flight demonstration. The Zephyrus X flight demonstration took place on August 2nd and flew to a near-space environment of ~36 km (~120,000 ft) experiencing almost identical thermal and environmental conditions that it would experience on orbit as well as being far enough away from the team to test long-range comms. The entire launch cost (excluding the cost of the CubeSat) was under $1,000, showing that one could successfully test many components and conditions in one flight test for pre-verification testing, saving thousands of dollars and many hours.

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