Meet SuperBIT, the next-generation space telescope that rides above the clouds on a balloon
By Doris Elin Urrutia about 21 hours ago
SuperBIT might be the next best thing in astronomy.
A new type of space telescope could soar high above Earth's clouds to view the universe in a more environmentally-friendly and upgradable way than current technologies.
The Superpressure Balloon-borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) was announced on Tuesday (July 20) by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). Its creators include researchers from Durham University in the United Kingdom, Princeton University and the University of Toronto in Canada, who partnered with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency.
The team's claims about SuperBIT indicate that this novel space telescope might be the next best thing in astronomy. "New balloon technology makes visiting space cheap, easy and environmentally friendly," Mohamed Shaaban, a doctoral student at the University of Toronto, said in the announcement. Shaaban described SuperBIT on Wednesday (July 21) at the virtual RAS National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2021).
The SuperBIT balloon in flight, above NASA's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, Texas, in June 2016. (Image credit: Richard Massey/Durham University (CC BY 4.0))
SuperBIT's helium balloon is one of the showstopping new technologies the project incorporates. The balloon is the size of a football stadium, according to the statement, with a volume of 695,830 cubic yards (532,000 cubic meters). The floating orb is powerful enough to carry a telescopic mirror to an altitude of about 25 miles (40 kilometers), about the same altitude as the top of Earth's stratosphere.
More:
https://www.space.com/balloon-space-telescope-design-superbit