NASA’s Scientific Balloon Programme is back in Wānaka for another flight test of its super pressure balloon (SPB) technology.

The purpose of the test is to support science missions requiring longer flight durations, with flights running up to 100 days. 

"For certain types of science, we can achieve the same results on a balloon that could only otherwise be achieved by flying into space on a rocket,” NASA Balloon Programme office chief Debbie Fairbrother said.

“Certifying the balloon as a long-duration flight vehicle is key to supporting bigger and more complex science missions in the future."

NASA is targeting early May for the balloon launch, the fourth test launch from Wānaka Airport since NASA began balloon flight operations here in 2015.

Technicians open a specialised shipping container with NASA's Super Pressure Balloon (SPB) in Wānaka ahead of the 2022 launch campaign. PHOTO: NASA Wallops/Bill Rodman

NASA last launched from Wānaka in 2017 with the Covid-19 pandemic thwarting preparations for an SPB flight in 2020.

“We are on the cusp of perfecting our SPB balloon technology, which is poised to expand opportunities for all sorts of science and technology missions by providing relatively low-cost, near-space access for long-duration flight times at mid-latitudes,” Debbie said. 

The SPB is an 532,000-cubic-metre pressurised flight vehicle designed to float at a constant density altitude despite the heating and cooling of the day-night cycle. 

This pressurisation, coupled with the stratospheric conditions in the southern hemisphere, enables long-duration flights.

The balloon is helium-filled and about the size of the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin when fully inflated at its operational float altitude of 33.5 kilometres. 

NASA conducts SPB launches from Wānaka in collaboration with the Queenstown Airport Corporation (QAC), Queenstown Lake District Council, and Airways New Zealand.

After this year’s flight, NASA plans to return to Wānaka in 2023 for two super pressure balloon flights, each with its own dedicated science mission.