  We present the results of a study along with a first prototype of a high
precision system (? 1 arcsec) for pointing and tracking light (near-infrared)
telescopes on board stratospheric balloons. Such a system is essentially
composed by a star sensor and by a star tracker, able to recognize the field
and to adequately track the telescope, respectively. We present the software
aimed at processing the star sensor image and the predictive algorithm that
allows the fine tracking of the source at a sub-pixel level. The laboratory
tests of the system are described and its performance is analyzed. We
demonstrate how such a device, when used at the focal plane of enough large
telescopes (2-4m, F/10), is capable to provide (sub-)arcsec diffraction limited
images in the near infrared bands.
