The launch window is now open for NASA’s 2023 New Zealand Super Pressure Balloon (SPB) launch campaign aimed to further test and qualify NASA’s SPB technology, which can offer cost savings compared to space missions.
Pictured here, technicians work on the SuperBIT payload and test out the different support and communications systems on the gondola during a hang compatibility test April 3, 2023, at the agency’s scientific balloon launch site in Wānaka, New Zealand.
Two SPB launches are scheduled from Wānaka this year, and on each balloon, NASA will fly science payloads as missions of opportunity. The balloons may be visible from the ground during their flights, which are planned for up to 100 days or more. For more information, see this story.
The team is evaluating weather daily for potential launch opportunities. NASA will announce by 2 p.m. NZST (10 p.m. ET) if the next day’s forecast weather will support a launch attempt.
For launch, winds need to be light and flowing in a reliable direction both at the surface and at low levels up to about 1,000 feet (300 meters). Winds flowing in opposite directions on the ground and lower levels could have a shearing effect on the balloon. In addition, NASA monitors for favorable stratospheric wind conditions at 110,000 feet (33.5 km), which is where the balloon will float.
A live feed of the launch is available here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-csbf-downrange-operations
Track the progress of the flight at the following link, which includes a map showing the balloon’s real-time location, at: https://www.csbf.nasa.gov/map/balloon10/flight728NT.htm