Scientific Balloon Launch from Sweden

Technicians attach the Sunrise payload to its balloon and parachute. The giant crane holds the gondola plus telescope payload steady until the balloon inflates and rises to an altitude sufficient to lift the payload from the crane. This image was taken at the launch site in Kiruna, Sweden June 2009. The balloon-borne gondola contained a 1-meter solar telescope as well as other instruments on a mission to investigate the structure and dynamics of the Sun's magnetic fields.