The EUSO-2 mission being prepared for launch on a super pressure balloon from New Zealand. Credits: NASA/Bill Rodman
After a successful launch and more than a day in flight, our second super pressure balloon (SPB) carrying EUSO-2 developed a leak, and flight controllers safely terminated the flight over the Pacific Ocean.
The scientific balloon launched from Wānaka Airport, New Zealand, May 13, 12:02 p.m. NZST (May 12, 8:02 p.m EDT). The balloon was in flight for 1 day, 12 hours, and 53 minutes before termination over the Pacific Ocean May 14 at 12:54 UTC (8:54 a.m. EDT). The launch was the second and final for NASA’s 2023 New Zealand balloon launch campaign.
During flight, the SPB began experiencing a leak and teams attempted to troubleshot by dropping ballast to maintain the balloon’s altitude. The determination was made to safely terminate over the Pacific Ocean. NASA will investigate the cause of the anomaly.
“This is an unfortunate end to the mission and we will investigate the cause to help us continue to improve the super pressure balloon technology,” said Debbie Fairbrother, NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program chief.
NASA conducted a thorough environmental analysis of an open-ocean landing before beginning its mid-latitude flight program in 2015. The open-ocean flight termination procedure makes use of the two-ton flight payload as an anchor to pull the entire balloon flight train to the bottom of the ocean as quickly as possible. In this way, the balloon does not remain in the primary water column zone where most marine species are known to live, minimizing environmental impacts.
The first super pressure balloon carrying SuperBIT continues to perform nominally on its fourth revolution of the Southern Hemisphere. That mission launched at 11:42 a.m. NZST, Sunday, April 16 (7:42 p.m. April 15 in U.S. Eastern Time).
Technicians perform pre-launch testing on the Extreme Universe Space Observatory 2 (EUSO-2) payload ahead of planned launch attempts. Credit: NASA/Bill Rodman
Wānaka, New Zealand—NASA is targeting Saturday, May 13 (Friday, May 12 in U.S. EDT) to conduct a second super pressure balloon (SPB) test flight launching from Wānaka Airport to further test and qualify the technology, which can offer cost savings compared to space missions.
The first super pressure balloon launch carrying the Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) continues to perform brilliantly and has been at float for more than 25 days. SuperBIT is currently on its fourth circumnavigation of the southern hemisphere.
This second scheduled flight will carry the Extreme Universe Space Observatory 2 (EUSO-2) science mission. EUSO-2, from the University of Chicago, aims to build on data collected during a 2017 mission. The mission will detect ultra-high energy cosmic-ray particles from beyond our galaxy as they penetrate Earth’s atmosphere. The origins of these particles are not well known, so the data collected from EUSO-2 will help solve this science mystery.
NASA will begin flight preparations in the early morning hours Saturday in New Zealand and continue to evaluate weather conditions in real-time throughout the morning. If weather is conducive for launch, lift-off is scheduled between 8 and 11:30 a.m. locally (between 4 and 7:30 p.m. U.S. EDT Friday, May 12).
For subsequent launch attempts, if needed, NASA will announce by 2 p.m. NZST (10 p.m. EDT) if the next day’s forecast weather will support a launch attempt.
For those in the local area, the public won’t be allowed at or to park alongside Wānaka Airport on the morning of the launch for flight safety reasons. However, immediately after lift-off, the balloon will be visible for miles around – the best viewing points will be on the hill on the Hawea side of the Red Bridge by Kane Road or on the Hawea Flat side of the Clutha River.
NASA conducts SPB launches from New Zealand in collaboration with the Queenstown Airport Corporation, Queenstown Lake District Council, New Zealand Space Agency, and Airways New Zealand.
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia manages the agency’s scientific balloon flight program with 10 to 15 flights each year from launch sites worldwide. Peraton, which operates NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) in Texas, provides mission planning, engineering services, and field operations for NASA’s scientific balloon program. The CSBF team has launched more than 1,700 scientific balloons over some 40 years of operations. NASA’s balloons are fabricated by Aerostar. The NASA Balloon Program is funded by the NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate Astrophysics Division.
For more information on NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program, visit:
NASA’s super pressure balloon completed its second mid-latitude circumnavigation after just 18 days of flight.
NASA’s scientific super pressure balloon (SPB) that launched from Wānaka, New Zealand, April 16 (April 15 in U.S. EDT), has completed two revolutions about the Earth’s Southern Hemisphere in just 18 days.
This mission, carrying the Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) science mission, is the first NASA SPB to complete two full revolutions about the southern hemisphere floating in the stratosphere at mid-latitudes. The balloon is healthy and continues to perform nominally while NASA continues its mission to validate and qualify the balloon technology for additional science flights.
“We’re just a couple weeks in, but so far, the balloon is on track and performing as designed and expected,” said Debbie Fairbrother, NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program Office chief. “Past flights have helped us refine the engineering on this balloon, and from what we’re seeing, all that work is paying off nicely. We’re hopeful we’ll complete many more revolutions about the hemisphere over the next several weeks with the SuperBIT team continuing to produce brilliant science.”
For more information about the SuperBIT mission, see their latest images here. The ongoing science balloon flight is monitored real-time from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, and anyone can track the position of the balloon here.
NASA predicts the balloon will complete a circumnavigation once every week to three weeks.
Next up for NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program is another planned super pressure balloon launch from Wānaka to further test the technology while also flying the Extreme Universe Space Observatory 2 (EUSO-2) science mission. EUSO-2, from the University of Chicago, aims to build on data collected during a 2017 mission. EUSO-2 will detect ultra-high energy cosmic-ray particles from beyond our galaxy as they penetrate Earth’s atmosphere. The origins of these particles are not well known, so the data collected from EUSO-2 will help solve this science mystery. Planned launch attempts will be announced on this blog.
Check out more science imagery from the Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) that launched on a scientific super pressure balloon April 16, 2023, Eastern time from Wānaka, New Zealand.
The two preliminary research images below are secondary science goals for the SuperBIT mission, which is to characterize the types of stars in other galaxies that are similar to ones in our own Milky Way Galaxy. The team uses color to determine the age and size of a star. Many small stars together tend to age slowly, appearing red in imagery. Larger stars burn faster and die quicker and will appear white or ultraviolet in the time they can be observed.
The ongoing science balloon flight is monitored real-time from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, and anyone can track the position of the balloon here.
The Southern Pinwheel galaxy
A preliminary image of the Messier 83, also know as the The Southern Pinwheel spiral galaxy, taken by the SuperBIT telescope flying on a super pressure balloon. Credit: NASA/SuperBIT
The sombrero galaxy
A preliminary image of the Messier 104, also known as The Sombrero Galaxy, taken by the SuperBIT telescope flying on a super pressure balloon. Credit: NASA/SuperBIT
A NASA super pressure balloon carrying the SuperBIT scientific payload is preparing to make its second land crossing over South America. After 12 days in flight, the scientific balloon is on track to reach South America Friday, April 28, at approximately 2 p.m. EDT (Friday, April 28, at 6 p.m. UTC).
Map of SuperBIT Crossing Pacific Ocean.
The scientific balloon, which lifted off from Wānaka Airport, New Zealand, April 15 (U.S. Eastern Time), made its first land crossing on Thursday, April 20, at 9:30 p.m. EDT (Friday, April 21, at 1:30 a.m. UTC). NASA predicts the balloon will complete a circumnavigation once every week to three weeks.
Before any land overflight occurs, a thorough assessment is made of the balloon’s health and the performance of the command and control electronics onboard. In addition, the forecast trajectory is analyzed from a safety perspective before beginning overflight operations.
The ongoing science balloon flight is monitored real-time from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, and anyone can track the position of the balloon here
A NASA super pressure balloon carrying the SuperBIT scientific payload has crossed the Pacific Ocean after just 5 days of flight and is on track to reach South America Thursday, April 20, at approximately 9:30 p.m. EDT (Friday, April 21, at 1:30 a.m. UTC).
Map of SuperBIT Crossing Pacific Ocean.
The scientific balloon, which lifted off from Wānaka Airport, New Zealand, April 15 (U.S. Eastern Time), will quickly transit Chile and Argentina as it continues its globetrotting journey about the southern hemisphere’s mid-latitudes.
Before any land overflight occurs, a thorough assessment is made of the balloon’s health and the performance of the command and control electronics onboard. In addition, the forecast trajectory is analyzed from a safety perspective before beginning overflight operations.
“The balloon is healthy and performing brilliantly maintaining a steady altitude at around 108,000 feet, which has been the primary goal of this mission,” said Debbie Fairbrother, NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program chief. “This is the first of many flight milestones to come—we aim to cross the Pacific several more times as we verify and validate this balloon technology while supporting some real cutting-edge science.”
The SuperBIT science team has already returned stunning images from the balloon-borne telescope, said Fairbrother. The first images were released by the science team recently and can be viewed here.
The ongoing science balloon flight is monitored real-time from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, and anyone can track the position of the balloon here.
NASA predicts the balloon will complete a circumnavigation once every week to three weeks.
The Tarantula Nebula taken by the Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT). Credits: NASA/SuperBIT
The Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) that launched on a scientific super pressure balloon April 16, 2023, local time from Wānaka, New Zealand, captured its first research images from this flight of the Tarantula Nebula and Antennae Galaxies. These images were captured on a balloon-borne telescope floating at 108,000 feet above Earth’s surface, allowing scientists to view these scientific targets from a balloon platform in a near-space environment.
The advantage of balloon-based versus space telescopes is the reduced cost of not having to launch a large telescope on a rocket. A super pressure balloon can circumnavigate the globe for up to 100 days to gather scientific data. The balloon also floats at an altitude above most of the Earth’s atmosphere, making it suitable for many astronomical observations.
The SuperBIT telescope captures images of galaxies in the visible-to-near ultraviolet light spectrum, which is within the Hubble Space Telescope’s capabilities, but with a wider field of view. The goal of the mission is to map dark matter around galaxy clusters by measuring the way these massive objects warp the space around them, also called “weak gravitational lensing.”
The Antennae Galaxies taken by the Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT). Credits: NASA/SuperBIT
The Tarantula Nebula is a large star-forming region of ionized hydrogen gas that lies 161,000 light-years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud, and its turbulent clouds of gas and dust appear to swirl between the region’s bright, newly formed stars. The Tarantula Nebula has previously be captured by both the Hubble Space Telescope and James Webb Space Telescope.
The Antennae galaxies, cataloged as NGC 4038 and NGC 4039, are two large galaxies colliding 60 million light-years away toward the southerly constellation Corvus. The galaxies have previously been captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope. A composite image of the galaxies combines data taken by all three telescopes.
SuperBIT’s first research images from this flight were released by Durham University here. The SuperBIT team is a collaboration among NASA; Durham University, United Kingdom; the University of Toronto, Canada; and Princeton University in New Jersey.
A super pressure balloon partially inflated as it’s being prepared to launch from Wānaka, New Zealand, April 16, with the SuperBIT payload. Credits: NASA/Bill Rodman
NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program successfully launched its football-stadium-sized, heavy-lift super pressure balloon (SPB) from Wānaka Airport, New Zealand, at 11:42 a.m., Sunday, April 16 (7:42 p.m.. April 15 in U.S. Eastern Time), on a mission planned for 100 or more days. Over the next couple hours, the balloon will begin to fully inflate as it floats up to an altitude of 110,000 feet. Read more.
A super pressure balloon fully inflated after it launched from Wānaka, New Zealand, April 16 local time. The launched carried the SuperBIT payload. Credits: NASA/Bill Rodman
The window for NASA’s super pressure balloon (SPB) launch from Wanaka Airport, New Zealand, opened Monday, May 9 (Tuesday, May 10 in New Zealand) for a mission that will take the 2.5-ton, football-stadium-sized balloon on a long-duration test flight.
At this time, NASA is planning a launch attempt for Tuesday, May 10 (Wednesday, May 11 in New Zealand)— the planned time for this launch attempt is 10 a.m. local New Zealand standard time (NZST).
“Our team has done an amazing job overcoming some massive logistical challenges and performing a number of check-outs on the balloon, gondola, and support instruments to get us to this point now where we’re ready for launch,” said Debbie Fairbrother, NASA’s Balloon Program Office chief. “From here, we just need Mother Nature to cooperate with the launch weather requirements we have to both ensure safety and mission success—I’m looking forward to this first 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.
For subsequent launch attempts, if needed, NASA will announce by 2 p.m. NZST (10 p.m. ET) if the next day’s forecast weather will support a launch attempt.
The balloon team prepares the gondola ahead of the super pressure balloon test launch in Wanaka, New Zealand. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Rodman
After launch the 18.8-million-cubic-foot (532,000 cubic-meter) SPB will ascend to its float altitude where the stratospheric winds will propel it at speeds up to and exceeding 100 knots on a weeks-long journey around the southern hemisphere.
The primary goal of the flight is to validate and certify the SPB technology, and in particular, the balloon’s capability to pressurize at high altitudes. This ability to pressurize and maintain a consistent, pumpkin-like shape enables the balloon to float at a constant density altitude despite the heating and cooling of the day-night cycle. Without this pressurization, the helium gas inside the balloon would expand and contract through the day-night cycle, causing changes in buoyancy that ultimately lead to changes in altitude.
The science and engineering communities have previously identified long-duration balloon flights at constant altitudes as playing an important role in providing inexpensive access to the near-space environment for science and technology. NASA’s SPB flights from the southern hemisphere keep the balloon primarily over water and open airspace, which is key for achieving long-duration flight times upward of 100 days.
This launch is the fourth test launch from Wanaka Airport since NASA began balloon flight operations there in 2015.
The Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) payload just prior to launch from Wanaka, New Zealand, on a NASA super pressure balloon in May 2016. (NASA/Bill Rodman)
NASA conducts SPB launches from New Zealand in collaboration with the Queenstown Airport Corporation, Queenstown Lake District Council, and Airways New Zealand. After this year’s flight, the team plans to return to Wanaka in 2023 for two super pressure balloon flights, each with its own dedicated science mission of opportunity.
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia manages the agency’s scientific balloon flight program with 10 to 15 flights each year from launch sites worldwide. Peraton, which operates NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) in Texas, provides mission planning, engineering services, and field operations for NASA’s scientific balloon program. The CSBF team has launched more than 1,700 scientific balloons over some 40 years of operations.
