Launch updates from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.
NASA’s Balloon Program is past the halfway point for the fall campaign in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Four missions have successfully launched from the launch site, with two more lined up in the coming weeks. Hurricane Polo is affecting the upper-level winds near the launch site and the team is evaluating launch opportunities for the […]
The BOOP! mission was launched on a scientific balloon from NASA's launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, at 8:03 a.m. MDT (10:03 a.m. EDT) on Sept. 13, 2026. This is the second year for NASA’s Balloon Program Office’s Balloon Optimization Opportunity Payload, or BOOP!, which allows multiple technology instruments to be tested during flight for future missions. The mission carried experiments to test compact tools for future planetary exploration, map high-energy space radiation, and evaluate a newly developed flight camera system.
The balloon and payload reached a float altitude of around 123,000 feet, and flew for a total of 4 hours, 29 minutes.
The HASP mission was launched on a scientific balloon from NASA's launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, at 8:05 a.m. MDT (10:05 a.m. EDT). The balloon and payload reached a float altitude of around 122,000 feet and flew for a total of 6 hours, 45 minutes.
This year’s campaign marks the 20th flight for the High-Altitude Student Platform carrying payloads developed by student teams. Over the course of two decades, more than 1,900 students from about 25 institutions across the United States have participated in flying experiments on the balloon platform.
The High-Altitude Student Platform program is a partnership among the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium, the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, and the agency’s Balloon Program Office and Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas.
The CLIC 2 mission was hand launched on a scientific balloon from NASA's launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, at 7:16 a.m. MDT (9:16 a.m. EDT). The balloon is the second flight for the Compact Large-sensor Imaging Camera mission, carrying a small camera system that can process images in real-time to help determine safe landing spots for rovers for future Moon or Mars missions. The balloon and payload reached a float altitude of around 126,000 feet, and flew for a total of 3 hours, 41 minutes.
The Salter Test Flight launched at 8:31 a.m. MDT (10:31 a.m. EDT) Saturday, Aug. 22 from the agency’s balloon launch facility in Fort Sumner, marking the first successful scientific balloon flight of the campaign. The balloon and payload reached a float altitude of around 123,000 feet, and flew for a total of 4 hours, 8 […]
A NASA Scientific Balloon Program annual campaign is getting ready to take flight at the agency’s balloon launch facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Six balloon flights carrying scientific experiments, technology demonstrations, and student payloads are scheduled to launch starting in mid-August. This year’s campaign marks the 20th flight for the High-Altitude Student Platform carrying payloads developed by student teams. Over the course […]
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is scheduled to support the launch of a suborbital sounding rocket for the Department of War during a launch window from June 26 to July 2, 2026. The rocket launch may be visible from the Chesapeake Bay region. NASA Wallops provides services such as vehicle tracking, data telemetry, and range safety […]
A suborbital rocket is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia during a window extending from June 10 – 16, 2026. No real-time launch status updates or livestream will be available. NASA Wallops provides services such as vehicle tracking, data telemetry, and range safety from NASA’s only owned and operated launch range to ensure successful missions […]
A suborbital rocket is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia during a window extending from April 20-28, 2026. No real-time launch status updates or livestream will be available. NASA Wallops provides services such as vehicle tracking, data telemetry, and range safety from NASA’s only owned and operated launch range to ensure successful missions operations for […]
Two sounding rockets are scheduled for liftoff between March 17 and March 23 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility launch range in Virginia. The launch window each day is from 8 p.m. to midnight EDT. No real-time launch status updates or livestream will be available. NASA Wallops provides services such as vehicle tracking, data telemetry, and range safety from NASA’s only owned and operated launch […]
