Tardis experiment ( stratorspheric ballon project)

We are a group of 10 students from the Space Systems and Space Surveillance Laboratory of Sapienza University of Rome currently involved in the European REXUS / BEXUS project organized by the German Aerospace Center, the Swedish National Space Agency and the European Space Agency.

The aim of the experiment "Tracking and Attitude Radio-based Determination In Stratosphere" (TARDIS) is to develop an alternative navigation system based on digital processing of the VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) radio-navigation system signal. The radio-navigation systems signal processing can provide a position and attitude estimation for stratospheric vehicles, incrementing the reliability of navigation systems for the future ying and stratospheric vehicles.

Our TARDIS experiment, the only Italian among the selected, will be launched next October aboard the BEXUS 28 stratospheric balloon reaching a maximum altitude of 32 km, from the Esrange base in Kiruna (Sweden).

The main objectives of the TARDIS experiment are to determine in real time the position and the attitude of the BEXUS gondola through

digital-processing of the VOR signal and to demonstrate target pointingcapabilities tracking a VOR ground station trough a steerable antenna.