The Balloon-borne VLBI Experiment (BVEX) Radio Telescope and Position Tracking System

Abstract

Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is a technique in radio astronomy that vastly increases the diffraction limited angular resolution of radio observations by correlating simultaneous observations of radio telescopes separated by thousands of kilometers. Ground-based high-frequency VLBI is limited in baseline length by the diameter of the Earth and in sensitivity by molecular absorption of the Earth's atmosphere. One of the ways to improve VLBI is with balloon telescopes, which are much cheaper than space VLBI telescopes. In addition balloon-VLBI stations could also improve image quality due to increased uv-coverage. As a first step to achieving VLBI from a balloon-borne platform we present the Balloon-borne VLBI Experiment (BVEX). This is a novel, first-generation balloon-borne VLBI station observing at K-band (22 GHz) which launched as part of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) STRATOS campaign from Timmins, Ontario, Canada in August 2025, with the aim to demonstrate VLBI from a balloon-borne platform by correlating with a large ground based telescope. We discuss the design of the 36 inch (91 cm) radio telescope and receiver with a 2 GHz bandwidth built from commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components as well as the telescope pointing system capable of interfacing with the CSA's CARMENCITA gondola. We also present a novel high precision position tracking system built from COTS components giving <1 mm precision on 1 s time scales which is required for achieving phase tracking at 22 GHz. We further show on-the-ground testing results from the 2025 Timmins campaign. The 2025 flight from Timmins was not successful due to a leak in the balloon preventing the payload from reaching its target altitude where accurate gondola pointing is possible. We therefore wrap up by presenting plans to upgrade the telescope for a potential next flight opportunity from Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil in 2027.