Lessons learned from the investigation of an anomalous termination of BETTII

Todd J. Veach; Stephen A. Rinehart; Dale J. Fixsen; Maxime J. Rizzo; Arnab Dhabal; Jordi Vila Hernandez de Lorenzo; Stephen Maher; Elmer Sharp

doi:10.1117/12.2313019

6 July 2018 Lessons learned from the investigation of an anomalous termination of BETTII

Todd J. Veach, Stephen A. Rinehart, Dale J. Fixsen, Maxime J. Rizzo, Arnab Dhabal, Jordi Vila Hernandez de Lorenzo, Stephen Maher, Elmer Sharp

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10700, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VII; 1070028 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313019
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

Abstract

The Balloon Experimental Twin Telescope for Infrared Interferometry (BETTII) mission launched from Palestine, Texas in June 2017. After an exciting launch and successful cruise, the BETTII gondola suffered an anomalous event at termination. BETTII separated from its parachute and free-fell 136,000 feet into the west Texas desert. This event was classified as a “close-call” and investigated as such. We present here the recovery effort required to find the payload and extract the payload from its impact site. We also present lessons learned from the event and results from the investigation, the design for the next BETTII gondola, and a path forward for return to flight.

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Todd J. Veach, Stephen A. Rinehart, Dale J. Fixsen, Maxime J. Rizzo, Arnab Dhabal, Jordi Vila Hernandez de Lorenzo, Stephen Maher, and Elmer Sharp "Lessons learned from the investigation of an anomalous termination of BETTII", Proc. SPIE 10700, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VII, 1070028 (6 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313019

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