Design of a COTS-Based, Low-Cost, Electronic Box to Standardize Student Balloon Applications

Stratospheric balloons are a valuable platform for scientific and technological experiments, as they can reach altitudes of 20 to 40 km and stay aloft for weeks or months. However, designing electronic boxes for stratospheric balloons poses several challenges, such as thermal management, mechanical stability, power consumption, and communication. The electronic box contains the main components of an experiment, such as the payload interface, the telemetry system, the data acquisition and storage, the sensors and actuators, and the power supply. This article presents some of the best practices and lessons learned from the experience of developing and testing an electronic box for the experiment HERCCULES, inside the stratospheric balloon of the BEXUS/REXUS program. The design criteria and trade-offs that were considered for each component, such as weight, size, reliability, modularity, and compatibility, are also discussed. A low-cost design with outstanding performance was obtained based on a concept that can serve as a baseline for the standardization of payload electronics of stratospheric balloons.