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Scientific Balloons

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NASA’s scientific balloons return to flight with Spring 2021 campaign

NASA Kicks off 2019 Balloon Campaign in New Mexico

NASA’s BITSE Solar Scope Is Ready for Balloon Flight Over New Mexico

NASA Balloon Mission Captures Electric Blue Clouds

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A newly risen sun is eclipsed by a filling scientific balloon, illuminating the balloon with golden light. To the left of the balloon is the tractor that releases the instrument and to the right sit two trucks with cannister of helium. The sky at the horizon is golden and quickly transitions to bright blue above.

A large vehicle stands in the center shortly after sunrise over a desert landscape. A small smoke plume indicates the reversal of the tractor. It is releasing a silver quadrangle-shaped telescope with long wires that extend beyond the frame. These wires connect the telescope to a 39-million-cubic-foot helium filled scientific balloon.

The sunrise low on the horizon in dry Fort Sumner New Mexico. The partially cloudy sky above already blue with golden light transitioning at the horizon. To the left a 39-million-cubic-foot scientific balloon fills with helium. The balloon is tethered by a 1000 ft cable to a tractor that sits to the right of the frame.

A crane suspends a shiny silver telescope in a large hangar at night. The top is conical, with a section cut out for a cylinder. The body is rhombus-shaped and has two shiny rectangular panels attached to the bottom that extend slightly in front of the telescope. The background shows the hangar is full of equipment, and the foreground shows the outside of the building. There are orange cones in front of the hanger doors. A person in a reflective vest and hard hat stands to the left of the open doors.

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