SGER: Development and Test Flight of a Small, Automated Balloon Payload for Observations of Terrestrial X-Rays

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

The project will develop and test a balloon payload designed to detect MeV electron precipitation into the atmosphere. Relativistic electron precipitation has been found to occur at high latitudes, but it is not known how common such events are, nor is much known about the conditions that leads to such events. The instrument to be developed under this project will be a very small, light weight device that can include real-time data communications via the Iridium satellite system. This new technology will allow a payload that can be launched on small balloons as well as on long-duration balloons.