Question: what did the 2 tonne stratospheric balloon do? what was it's purpose.

Miranda Jackson answered on 22 Jun 2015:

I was involved in an experiment to measure polarization of X-rays from space. Because X-rays cannot travel through the atmosphere, we send instruments up to the stratosphere (above most of the atmosphere) on balloons. The purpose of my software was to control the scientific instruments on the balloon, as well as the machines that point them to certain locations on the sky while taking scientific data.