Design for a PLC based Shutter and Tilt control system with POEMMA Balloon with Radio

The Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA) Balloon with Radio (PBR) project is a NASA high-altitude balloon mission designed to search for ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and very high-energy neutrinos from the upper atmosphere. To collect a larger amount of data, the telescope and radio instrument must be capable of tilting from nadir to +15° above the horizon. Shutters are also needed to protect the telescope from the sun. To ensure precise operation and reliable data collection, a control system was developed using a programmable logic controller (PLC) to interface with key subsystems of the telescope. The PLC acquires data from distributed sensors that monitor light, tilt, and temperature, which are compiled and transmitted to the ground as hexadecimal status messages. It also receives and interprets hexadecimal commands from the ground to control the telescope's pointing angle and shutter position via stepper motors. In this contribution details about the design and construction of the PLC system will be given along with test results and plans for upcoming tests and flight.