Launches in chronological order
In the tables that we present here you will find the complete record of stratospheric balloon launches separated for years and ordered chronologically. Note that the data entered so far in our database are about 65% of all balloon launch activity worldwide from 1947 to date, so it should not be taken as suitable values for statistics of any kind. It is likely that the process of consolidating all the data available still will take several years to complete.
The little number in red indicates in each case, the number of records that Stratocat hold in the database for that particular year. Clicking on each year number, you can access tables containing a as much as possible information on the missions done that year like launch base, duration of the flight, purpose of the mission and landing place of the payload. In some cases, clicking in the experiment's name you will access a complete flight data sheet featuring a detailed account of the balloon operations as well the scientific experiments carried, their purpose, results, related links and when available images of different instances of the mission.
Finally in the table at the bottom of this page you will find a snapshot of the last thirteen records incorporated into our database.
| Total number of records in the launch database: 10834 | 1947 . 10 . |
1948 . 9 . |
1949 . 37 . |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 . 11 . |
1951 . 51 . |
1952 . 83 . |
1953 . 467 . |
1954 . 233 . |
1955 . 330 . |
1956 . 303 . |
1957 . 472 . |
1958 . 836 . |
1959 . 372 . |
| 1960 . 396 . |
1961 . 303 . |
1962 . 325 . |
1963 . 270 . |
1964 . 308 . |
1965 . 419 . |
1966 . 386 . |
1967 . 334 . |
1968 . 281 . |
1969 . 287 . |
| 1970 . 270 . |
1971 . 196 . |
1972 . 235 . |
1973 . 180 . |
1974 . 139 . |
1975 . 153 . |
1976 . 120 . |
1977 . 109 . |
1978 . 125 . |
1979 . 157 . |
| 1980 . 120 . |
1981 . 94 . |
1982 . 101 . |
1983 . 110 . |
1984 . 63 . |
1985 . 75 . |
1986 . 65 . |
1987 . 76 . |
1988 . 90 . |
1989 . 67 . |
| 1990 . 86 . |
1991 . 72 . |
1992 . 99 . |
1993 . 53 . |
1994 . 84 . |
1995 . 98 . |
1996 . 65 . |
1997 . 96 . |
1998 . 95 . |
1999 . 111 . |
| 2000 . 116 . |
2001 . 87 . |
2002 . 75 . |
2003 . 78 . |
2004 . 78 . |
2005 . 96 . |
2006 . 94 . |
2007 . 40 . |
2008 . 57 . |
2009 . 63 . |
| 2010 . 70 . |
2011 . 46 . |
2012 . 7 . |
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Last 30 records incorporated into our database
This table contains information from records added in our last update 16-May-2012 - 03:57:22pm
| Launch base | Date | Flight Duration | Experiment | Payload landing place or cause of the failure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 New Brighton (MN) | 7/29/1952 | TECHNOLOGICAL FLIGHT | Payload never recovered. Balloon found in Merignac, France | ||
| New Brighton (MN) | 7/23/1952 | 34 h | TECHNOLOGICAL FLIGHT | In Wessington Springs, South Dakota, US | |
| New Brighton (MN) | 7/21/1952 | --- | TECHNOLOGICAL FLIGHT | Balloon burst at 34.000 ft. Payload recovered 9 miles SE of Clear Lake, Minnesota, US | |
| New Brighton (MN) | 7/15/1952 | --- | TECHNOLOGICAL FLIGHT | 2 miles E of Hugo, Minnesota, US | |
| Holloman AFB (NM) | 8/29/1952 | 5 h 30 m | GOPHER PROJECT | 18 miles N of San Lorenzo, New Mexico, US | |
| Holloman AFB (NM) | 8/28/1952 | --- | GOPHER PROJECT | Launch platform failed before balloon release | |
| Holloman AFB (NM) | 8/27/1952 | 2 h 30 m | SAMPLING BOTTLE + INFRARED GEAR | 28 miles NNW of Holloman AFB, New Mexico, US | |
| Holloman AFB (NM) | 8/25/1952 | 2 h 30 m | SAMPLING BOTTLE + INFRARED GEAR | 10 miles WSW of Salinas Peak, New Mexico, EEUU | |
| Grenier AFB (NH) | 8/9/1957 | --- | ---No Data--- | --- No Data --- | |
| Richards-Gebaur AFB (MO) | 7/21/1975 | --- | OPTICAL DUSTSONDE | --- No Data --- | |
 Hyderabad | 4/11/2012 | F 10 h | LASE (Large Area Scintillation counter Experiment) | Near Bhongir, Andhra Pradesh, India | |
| Roswell (NM) | 3/15/2012 | --- | RED BULL STRATOS I - Baumgartner | 20 miles E of Roswell, New Mexico, US | |
| Roswell (NM) | 3/13/2012 | --- | RED BULL STRATOS I - Baumgartner | Balloon burst during inflation | |
 Paardefontein | 2/25/1977 | --- | SOLAR MONTGOLFIERE | --- No Data --- | |
| Paardefontein | 2/17/1977 | --- | SOLAR MONTGOLFIERE | --- No Data --- | |
 McMurdo | 12/27/2011 | --- | PATHFINDER | --- No Data --- | |
| McMurdo | 12/24/2011 | --- | PATHFINDER | --- No Data --- | |
| McMurdo | 12/25/2011 | --- | CREST (Cosmic Ray Electron Synchrotron Telescope) | --- No Data --- | |
| Roswell (NM) | 12/15/2011 | --- | RED BULL STRATOS - Test | Balloon failure at launch | |
| McMurdo | 1/14/2012 | STO (Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory) | A los 79º 31' S 176º 16' E, Antarctica. | ||
| McMurdo | 1/10/2012 | --- | STO (Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory) | Aborted launch | |
| McMurdo | 12/11/2011 | 11 d | PATHFINDER | --- No Data --- | |
 Ny-Alesund | 1/19/2012 | 28 h | POP # 2 (Polar Observation Platform) | Gotland Island, Baltic Sea | |
| Ny-Alesund | 1/17/2012 | 2 h | POP # 1 (Polar Observation Platform) | In a Glacier at 79º 03' 30” N 12º 22' 26” E. Svalbard Archipelago | |
| Holloman AFB (NM) | 8/31/1961 | 2 h 30 m | CREE MISSILE (Ballute Test) | --- No Data --- | |
| Holloman AFB (NM) | 7/20/1961 | 2 h 5 m | CREE MISSILE (Ballute Test) | --- No Data --- | |
| Holloman AFB (NM) | 7/6/1961 | --- | CREE MISSILE (Ballute Test) | The payload was prematurely released after launch | |
| Holloman AFB (NM) | 6/28/1961 | 1 h 40 m | CREE MISSILE (Ballute Test) | --- No Data --- | |
| Holloman AFB (NM) | 8/28/1952 | 33 m | MOBY DICK (MODEL # 4 TEST) | N of Aeromedical Laboratory building, Holloman AFB, New Mexico, US | |
| Holloman AFB (NM) | 8/27/1952 | 22 h 30 m | MOBY DICK (MODEL # 4 TEST) | Pringle, Texas, US |