HADT hardware description

The balloon

The balloon has a volume of 1,700,000 cubic feet (50,000 cubic meters) and is filled with helium. The gondola

The balloon gondola is a cylindrical pressurized capsule that was constructed from composite materials. Inside the gondola were placed radio and satellite avionics systems that are tracking the balloon and two HD cameras that will capture the vehicle detachment moment and the subsequently balloon burst. The DTV

The Drop Test Vehicle is an aerodynamic structure with four stabilizers at the rear end. It is also built from composite materials and is designed to fly at transonic speeds, to support the parachute deployment loads and the acceleration on water landing. The DTV is equipped with a separation system from the balloon, avionics systems, the parachute system, and the parachute test instruments. The vehicle maximum diameter is 2.8 ft (0.85 m) without the stabilizers, 8.4 ft (2.55 m) with stabilizers and the overall length is 6m (including the Pitot). The stabilizers are built from 2024 T6 aluminum alloy. The separation system is composed of three pneumatic pistons supplied from a 200 bar pressure canister.

The parachute deployment system consists of the explosive triggering component, the 39 ft (12 m) diameter parachute, the parachute container, the BoP drogue and the interface ring with the DTV airframe. DTV technical data: