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ARCADE-R2 experiment on board BEXUS 17 stratospheric balloon

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Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the ARCADE-R2 experiment, a technology demonstrator that aimed to prove the feasibility of small-scale satellite and/or aircraft systems with automatic (a) attitude determination, (b) control and (c) docking capabilities. The experiment embodies a simplified scenario in which an unmanned vehicle mock-up performs rendezvous and docking operations with a fixed complementary unit. The experiment is composed by a supporting structure, which holds a small vehicle with one translational and one rotational degree of freedom, and its fixed target. The dual system features three main custom subsystems: a relative infrared navigation sensor, an attitude control system based on a reaction wheel and a small-scale docking mechanism. The experiment bus is equipped with pressure and temperature sensors, and wind probes to monitor the external environmental conditions. The experiment flew on board the BEXUS 17 stratospheric balloon on October 10, 2013, where several navigation-control-docking sequences were executed and data on the external pressure, temperature, wind speed and direction were collected, characterizing the atmospheric loads applied to the vehicle. This paper describes the critical components of ARCADE-R2 as well as the main results obtained from the balloon flight.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Marco Barbetta, Andrea Carron & Fabio Spinello

  2. Vitrociset Belgium SPRL, Transinne, Belgium

    Alessandro Boesso

  3. Centre of Studies and Activities for Space “G. Colombo”, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Francesco Branz, Lorenzo Olivieri, Francesco Sansone & Livia Savioli

  4. Department of Computer Science, University of Venice, Venice, Italy

    Jacopo Prendin

  5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Gabriele Rodeghiero

  6. Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    Alessandro Francesconi

Authors
  1. Marco Barbetta
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  2. Alessandro Boesso
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  3. Francesco Branz
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  4. Andrea Carron
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  5. Lorenzo Olivieri
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  6. Jacopo Prendin
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  7. Gabriele Rodeghiero
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  8. Francesco Sansone
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  9. Livia Savioli
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  10. Fabio Spinello
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  11. Alessandro Francesconi
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Marco Barbetta or Lorenzo Olivieri.

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Barbetta, M., Boesso, A., Branz, F. et al. ARCADE-R2 experiment on board BEXUS 17 stratospheric balloon. CEAS Space J 7, 347–358 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-015-0083-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-015-0083-3

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