Precise pointing and stabilization performance for the balloon-borne imaging testbed: 2015 test flight

What is it about?

Instead of using traditional rockets to launch scientifically relevant satellites, much more cost-effective stratospheric balloons can be used to similar effect, where important astronomical experiments can be conducted without interference from altitudes well above the atmosphere. The Balloon-borne Imaging Testbed (BIT) is a testing platform designed to demonstrate that similar imaging accuracy can be achieved from a balloon-borne instrument compared to other scientifically-relevant satellites. The recent 2015 test flight demonstrated that it is indeed feasible to operate an extremely stable imaging platform from a balloon, where the demonstrated pointing accuracy is analogous to threading a needle from 1 mile away and not touching the sides of the needle for hours at a time. Given the performance of BIT in 2015, upcoming science flights will demonstrate imaging capabilities that rival the Hubble Space Telescope.

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Why is it important?

The development of the Balloon-borne Imaging Testbed is currently interest for modern astronomy and cosmology, since access to high quality imaging is becoming increasingly important for dark matter and dark energy surveys as well as exoplanet surveys. For example, the pointing precision of BIT would enable astronomers to determine the atmospheric composition of exoplanets, which can be useful for determining the viability of the planets in question to support life, whereas cosmologists can utilize the imaging capabilities of BIT to map out dark matter distribution in galaxy clusters through gravitational lensing. With the prospective launch and operation of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), it is hoped that BIT and balloon-borne technologies developed from it can make important astronomical contributions through collaboration with these modern observatories.