The final launch attempt of NASA’s super pressure balloon (SPB) was aborted today (Friday May 27) but NASA is looking forward to returning to Wānaka for subsequent campaigns.

NASA made its last attempt for 2022 to launch a SPB from Wānaka Airport but, after a promising start, an unexpected technical issue grounded the attempt.

“Inflation operations began, but the brakes on a key piece of equipment that guides and feeds the balloon material during launch operations would not release,” NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre spokesperson Jeremy Eggers said. 

Five previous attempts to launch the SPB during the 2022 Wānaka Balloon campaign had been unsuccessful due to weather conditions.

The NASA team’s local campaign will now conclude as the team is required for planned campaigns in Sweden and the United States.

“We accomplished a lot during this campaign in further establishing our presence in Wānaka for future operations,” NASA Balloon Program Office chief Debbie Fairbrother said. 

“I’m one to take the long view on things and I’m super optimistic for the way ahead—I’m looking forward to our return to Wānaka and hopefully with fewer challenges than what we had this year.”

She said the 2022 campaign yielded some key success: NASA signed a lease for hangar space at Wānaka Airport for upcoming missions; it performed important maintenance and upkeep on its balloon launch pad to ensure readiness for future missions; and the team participated in community outreach to share the importance of NASA’s balloon programme in supporting science and technology missions.

Debbie said NASA was on the cusp of perfecting its SPB balloon technology, which she said was “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”. 

The SPB is an 532,000-cubic-metre pressurised flight vehicle. It is roughly the size of the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin when fully inflated at its operational float altitude of 33.5 kilometres. 

PHOTO: Wānaka Airport