NASA’s scientific super pressure balloon has completed its first mid-latitude circumnavigation after launching from Wanaka Airport, New Zealand on April 15. The balloon crossed the 169.24 east longitude line at about 11:32 p.m. EDT on April 25, just 10 days, 3 hours, and 50 minutes after launch. The balloon is maintaining a float altitude around 107,000 feet as it continues its globetrotting journey. The Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) payload is flying on the balloon and has already returned brilliant research images from this flight. NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program is planning another super pressure balloon launch from Wanaka to further test the technology while also flying the Extreme Universe Space Observatory 2 (EUSO-2) science mission. EUSO-2 aims to detect ultra-high energy cosmic-ray particles from beyond our galaxy as they penetrate Earth’s atmosphere.
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