Study of attitude and rotation period of scientific payload using stratospheric small balloon missions

The attitude and rotational frequency or period of a payload during a mission are usually measured by the time variation of the azimuth and elevation angles.So far, significant scientific results have been published using stratospheric balloon-borne experimental data of the Indian Centre for Space Physics, Kolkata.Measurements of ground radioactivity, secondary cosmic rays, detection of astronomical sources (Sun, Crab Pulsar, Cygnus X-1, etc.), and weather parameters such as temperature, pressure, wind velocity, etc., have been done.However, the dynamics of the payloads of these 'Dignity missions' have not been studied.In the present study, we analyse data from some of the flights to obtain the payload's attitude and rotational period at each instant of time.We present how to determine the payload attitude from an attitude and heading reference system using micro-electronic modules, and also show the payload's directional stability from the rotational period analysis of the scientific payload in the stratosphere for single balloon (rubber and plastic) missions.Our analysis suggests that though double balloon configurations often float the payloads for a longer duration, the period of rotation of the payload is lower, and as a result, pointing to any object is poorer.In the absence of a pointing device, a single balloon is preferred for receiving useful data.