AESOP-Lite Electronics for the Detector's 2018 Inaugural Flight

Abstract

The Anti-Electron Sub-Orbital Payload Low Energy (AESOP-Lite) high-altitude scientific balloon payload is engineered to study Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) over a series of balloon flights. Its detector is tuned to electrons and positrons in the energy range of 20 million electron Volts (eV) to 300 MeV. This new payload is a successor to both the Low Energy Electrons (LEE) and the Anti-Electron Sub-Orbital Payload (AESOP) balloon payloads. The new AESOP-Lite payload integrates new components, including Silicon Strip Detector (SSD) arrays, with legacy components from these previous payloads. The first AESOP-Lite flight was completed in May 2018 from Esrange, Sweden, to Ellesmere Island, Canada.