NASA Launches Stratospheric Super Pressure Balloon from New Zealand

NASA Launches Stratospheric Super Pressure Balloon from New Zealand

NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program successfully launched its football-stadium-sized, heavy-lift super pressure balloon (SPB) from Wānaka Airport, New Zealand, at 11:42 a.m., Sunday, April 16, 2023, (7:42 p.m.. April 15 in U.S. Eastern Time), on a mission planned for 100 or more days. The balloon will float at 110,000 feet (33.5 km) with the winds carrying it about the southern hemisphere's mid-latitude band.

While validating the super pressure balloon technology is the main flight objective, the balloon is also carrying the Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT), from Princeton University, which uses a wide field of view to image large galaxy clusters from a balloon platform in a near-space environment. 

The 18.8-million-cubic-foot (532,000-cubic-meter) balloon is helium-filled and about the size of a football stadium when fully inflated at its operational float altitude of 110,000 feet (33.5 kilometers). Wānaka is NASA’s dedicated launch site for mid-latitude, long-duration balloon missions.

NASA invites the public to follow these missions as they fly on their globetrotting journeys about the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-latitudes. A balloon’s flight path is controlled by the wind speed and direction at float altitude. The missions will spend most of their time over water, and for any land crossings, NASA works with the U.S. State Department to coordinate country overflight approvals. Real-time tracking of these flights is publicly available here: 

https://www.csbf.nasa.gov/map/balloon10/flight728NT.htm

In addition, NASA publicizes balloon launch and tracking information via the web at: www.nasa.gov/balloons 

Learn more about NASA's Scientific Balloon Program:

https://www.nasa.gov/scientificballoons

Video Credit: NASA's Wallops Flight Facility

Lead Producer: Bill Rodman

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: April 18, 2023

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