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A crane is leading a scientific balloon before launch. The balloon is to the right, and appears an a plastic, upside down teardrop. A tube attached to the top of the balloon leads down to the ground where a number of personnel are holding it. To the left, a crane holding a large payload structure with many solar panels is attached to the end of the balloon.

Scientific Balloons

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility manages the agency’s Scientific Balloon Program with 10-15 flights on average each year from launch sites worldwide.

balloons by the numbers

55

days longest balloon flight record

30+

years for NASA’s balloon program

Scientific Balloon Types

The two types of balloons currently used by the NASA Balloon Flight program are zero-pressure and super-pressure.

The two types of balloons currently used by the NASA Balloon Flight program are zero-pressure and super-pressure.

Learn More About Balloon Types
This illustration shows a high-altitude balloon ascending into the upper atmosphere
Carried by a balloon the size of a football stadium, ASTHROS will use a telescope to observe wavelengths of light that aren’t visible from the ground.