Suggested Searches

NASA Scientific Balloons

NASA's scientific balloon program is managed out of the agency's Wallops Flight Facility.

Blog PostsArchives

    New Mexico Scientific Balloon Campaign Update- Sept. 4

    The High-Altitude Student Platform 2 (HASP2) successfully launched at 8:28 a.m. MDT (10:28 a.m. EDT) Thursday, Sept. 4 and reached a float altitude of nearly 122,000 feet. HASP remained in flight for a total of 11 hours,40 minutes. Science reports a successful flight. The balloon and payload have safely landed, and recovery efforts are underway.

    The HASP2 program is a collaborative effort between Louisiana Space Grant Consortium at Louisiana State University (LaSPACE - LSU), NASA SMD: Astrophysics Division, NASA Balloon Program Office (BPO) and the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) to develop and operate an inexpensive platform that can be used to flight test compact satellites, prototypes and other small payloads designed and built by students. The High Altitude Student Platform 2 (HASP2) is designed to carry up to twenty-four (24) student payloads at a time to an altitude of about 110,000 feet with flight durations of 15 to 20 hours.

    Student Payloads and Organizations for 2025 include:

    • Big Red Sat 1.5 – The University of Nebraska Lincoln
    • STRAINS 4.0 – Sint-Pieters College Jett
    • Bat Sat – University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
    • FLC Ionizing Radiation vs Solar Insolation (IRSI) Experiment – Fort Lewis College
    • Strato Sentinal – University of Boston Massachusetts
    • Ozone Sensors Payload – University of North Florida
    • Astrolab – Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería
    • Spectra Solis – College of the Canyons
    • Astro Tracker II - Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería
    • MSTRI – McMaster University
    •  OLIMPO - Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería

    New Mexico Scientific Balloon Campaign Update- Aug. 21

    Aug. 21, 2025: The Salter Test Flight launched at 9:21 a.m. EDT (7:21 a.m. MDT) Thursday, Aug. 21 from the agency’s balloon launch facility, marking the first successful balloon flight of the campaign. The balloon and payload reached a float altitude of 124,000 feet, and flew for a total of 5 hours, 4 minutes. The hardware test flight reported a healthy balloon and flight systems, and requirements were met before successful termination. Several smaller payloads, or piggyback missions, rode along to support science and technology development, including numerous student experiments. Recovery efforts are underway.  

    Aerial view of a high-altitude scientific balloon launch preparation in a desert setting at sunset. The white balloon is partially inflated and tethered to a launch vehicle, with support vehicles and personnel positioned around the launch area on a cracked desert surface
    NASA's high-altitude scientific balloon being prepared for launch at Fort Sumner, N.M., during the agency's 2024 fall balloon campaign. The mission carried research instruments to the stratosphere to conduct experiments above 99.5% of Earth's atmosphere.
    NASA/Francis Reddy

    Seven Scientific Balloons to Fly From New Mexico for NASA Campaign

    A scientific balloon, capable of expanding to 11 million cubic feet at altitude, stands partially inflated against a clear blue sky. Ground crew in safety vests monitor the deployment while the translucent envelope is secured with tethers. Support vehicles including a semi-truck are positioned nearby, with orange safety cones marking the perimeter of the launch field

    A NASA Scientific Balloon Program annual campaign is taking flight at the agency’s balloon launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Seven balloon flights carrying scientific experiments and technology demonstrations are scheduled to launch starting in mid-August. To follow the missions in the 2025 Fort Sumner campaign, visit NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility website for real-time updates […]

    Read Full Post

    NASA Safely Ends Second Super Pressure Balloon Test Flight 

    A graphic map with a red line and points on two land masses, blue ocean surrounds.

    The second test flight of NASA’s 2025 New Zealand Super Pressure Balloon Campaign was safely terminated at 1:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 13 (U.S. Eastern Time) over Argentina. The mission remained in flight for 9 days, 6 hours, and 36 minutes.   Balloon operators from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) in Palestine, Texas, sent flight termination commands […]

    Read Full Post

    NASA Ends Super Pressure Balloon Flight After 17 Days

    A graphic of a world map showing land masses and ocean with a red line and markers on each end.

    The first flight of NASA’s 2025 New Zealand Super Pressure Balloon Campaign was safely terminated at 7:46 a.m. Sunday, May 4 (in U.S. Eastern Time) after 17 days, 13 hours, and 47 minutes in flight around the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-latitude band. Flight controllers at the agency’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, conducted a […]

    Read Full Post

    Second NASA Super Pressure Balloon Launches from New Zealand

    A large scientific balloon lifts from the ground. It’s attached by a long cable to a vehicle on the ground, which has a boxy scientific payload dangling from the right side on a long arm. The background has a mountain range with some clouds against a blue sky.

    The second of two planned scientific balloon flights for NASA’s 2025 New Zealand Super Pressure Balloon Campaign successfully lifted off from Wānaka Airport, New Zealand, at 11:38 a.m. NZST, Sunday, May 4 (7:38 p.m., Saturday, May 3 in U.S. Eastern Time). The 18.8 million-cubic-foot super pressure balloon will ascend over the next few hours until […]

    Read Full Post

    NASA Balloon Circumnavigates World in 16 Days

    A graphic of the world, with focus on the Southern Hemisphere and a red line, indicating a balloon path, completes a circle.

    More than 16 days after lifting off from Wānaka, New Zealand, NASA’s football-stadium-sized super pressure balloon has completed its first full circumnavigation of the globe — a significant milestone for the test flight around the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-latitudes. The balloon crossed the 169.24 east longitude line at 7:22 a.m. Saturday, May 3 (U.S. Eastern Time). […]

    Read Full Post

    NASA Scientific Balloon on Track to Cross South America

    A graphic of a world map with green land masses and blue ocean, and a red line representing a flight path of a balloon.

    After five days in flight, NASA’s super pressure balloon test flight carrying the HIWIND payload has nearly crossed the Pacific Ocean and is on track to reach South America Wednesday, April 23 at approximately 2 p.m. EDT (April 23, 6:00 p.m. UTC). The stadium-sized, heavy-lift scientific balloon, which launched from Wānaka, New Zealand, April 16 […]

    Read Full Post

    NASA Balloon at Float, Begins Southern Hemisphere Journey 

    A large metal scientific instrument with black solar panels is suspended off the ground by a yellow crane. A white trail of material is on the ground and attaches to a partially inflated white balloon in the background.

    The first super pressure balloon flight of NASA’s New Zealand Balloon Campaign reached its float altitude after lifting off from Wānaka Airport, New Zealand, at 10:44 a.m. NZST, Thursday, April 17 (6:44 p.m., Wednesday, April 16 in U.S. Eastern Time). The football-stadium-sized, heavy-lift super pressure balloon is on a mission planned for 100 days or more […]

    Read Full Post

    Window Opens for New Zealand Scientific Balloon Campaign

    A landscape photo of New Zealand, with a partially inflated balloon in the shape of an upside down teardrop in the distance.

    The window for NASA’s next scientific balloon campaign in Wānaka, New Zealand, has opened. The launches include two scheduled flights to test and qualify the agency’s super pressure balloon technology. These stadium-sized, heavy-lift balloons will travel the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-latitudes for planned missions of 100 days or more. Teams from the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility […]

    Read Full Post