perspector/VADERVADER (Volume Acquisition Device using Estimated Radius) measures the volume of a superpressure balloon using a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor and a winch to obtain radius measurements at various heights within a superpressure balloon.
Winch is an open-source printed circuit board by perspector, from the perspector/VADER repository on GitHub, published under the AGPL-3.0 licence. It is a 2-layer board of 70 × 60 mm with 10 parts on 50 nets, routed with 117 tracks and 0 vias.
Its parts include 4 connectors and 2 ICs. It belongs with the sensors and measurement boards and the RP2040 boards of this library.
VADER (Volume Acquisition Device using Estimated Radius) measures the volume of a superpressure balloon using a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor and a winch to obtain radius measurements at various heights within a superpressure balloon.
[!NOTE] This project was created for the Balloon Program Office at NASA Wallops Flight Facility. The Balloon Program Office (BPO) develops scientific balloons as a platform for space payloads that collect scientific data for astrophysics, heliophysics, and other branches of science. More information can be found on the Balloon Program Office website.
[!IMPORTANT] While I developed all designs, programs, and functions of VADER while interning at the NASA Balloon Program Office, nothing in this repository is "NASA approved." VADER has yet to be tested on a scientific balloon, and NO approvals, liability, or warranty on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Wallops Flight Facility, the Balloon Program Office, or myself (Benjamin Chase / perspector) are implied. Please see the LICENSE.
This is simply a way to chronacle my experience with BPO, highlight the incredible projects that interns can support at NASA, and share VADER in the spirit of open-source!
The CAD files were developed during my 2nd internship with BPO in the summer of 2024. The CircuitPython code was developed during my 3rd internship in the summer of 2025.
More extensive documentation of this project is available in VADER_README.docx.
| Qty | Value | Footprint | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | MountingHole_Pad | MountingHole:MountingHole_3.2mm_M3_ISO14580_Pad_TopBottom | H1, H2, H3 |
| 1 | 28V from SPB | Connector_PinSocket_2.54mm:PinSocket_1x02_P2.54mm_Vertical | J4 |
| 1 | Limit Switch | Connector_PinSocket_2.54mm:PinSocket_1x03_P2.54mm_Vertical | J1 |
| 1 | RaspberryPi_Pico | Module:RaspberryPi_Pico_Common_Unspecified | A1 |
| 1 | Stepper Motor | Connector_PinSocket_2.54mm:PinSocket_1x07_P2.54mm_Vertical | J3 |
| 1 | UART and Power to Gondola | Connector_PinSocket_2.54mm:PinSocket_1x04_P2.54mm_Vertical | J2 |
| 1 | ~ | Adafruit_DRV8833:DRV8833 | U1 |
| 1 | ~ | Converter_DCDC:rpmges5.0-10 | U2 |
It measures 70 × 60 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.
10 parts. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.
From the perspector/VADER repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is Electronics/PCB/winch/winch.kicad_pcb and its schematic Electronics/PCB/gondola/gondola.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.
Its repository publishes it under the AGPL-3.0 licence: you may reuse it on that licence's terms (keep the author's notice, and for a copyleft licence share your changes alike).
perspector/VADER
VADER (Volume Acquisition Device using Estimated Radius) measures the volume of a superpressure balloon using a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor and a winch to obtain radius measurements at various heights…
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