ACTS: ACQUISITION, CONTROL, AND TELEMETRY SYSTEM—PROGRAM EVOLUTION AND FLIGHT RESULTS

Existing scientific balloon electronics systems are expensive, custom-designed hardware units configured for a specific experiment or payload. As an alternative, Applied Technology Associates (ATA) has developed the Acquisition, Control, and Telemetry Systems (ACTS) under the sponsorship of the U.S. Air Force Phillips Laboratory. In its first flight test at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, on March 6, 1997, ACTS demonstrated the potential to provide a balloon control package with far greater capability than existing balloon electronics control systems.