Riding aboard a high altitude balloon, Space@VT's Gondola Support Package (GSP) features a <45 arcsecond sun-tracking system in support of the Gas Filter Correlation Radiometer (GFCR) for Limb Occultation (GLO) instrument development funded by NASA's Instrument Incubator Program.

GLO is the primary payload for Dr. Scott Bailey's SOCRATES satellite constellation mission concept. The balloon exceeded 125,000 ft at float over New Mexico, and remained at float until sunset. The payload collected images of the sun at 100 fps while maintaining tracking throughout sunset in order to validate the accuracy of the system.

Partners on this project include Fleming Technologies, Inc., Naval Research Lab, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory."

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