In the table below you will find the records of stratospheric balloons launched from different countries and places during 1988, which are currently available in StratoCat's database. Each row shows basic data about the launch base from which departed, date and time of the launch, and if available the duration of the mission and the site of termination or landing place of the payload.


Regarding the kind of payload or experiment transported in each balloon mission, if you click the experiment name a text will be displayed showing the name of the scientific institutions involved in that mission, a brief resume of the purpose of the experiment carried onboard as well the scientific results obtained, and other information of relevance from that particular mission. Finaly at the bottom of the window there are links to external references. In some cases, these references are available throught scientific websites or journals for free. In other cases however, the information was published on journals only accesible throught direct suscription or using the access provided by Universities or research centers.

Launch baseDateFlight DurationExperimentPayload landing place or cause of the failure
Campinas (SP)1/4---TEST FLIGHT--- No Data ---
Alice Springs1/5---GAMMA RAY TELESCOPE--- No Data ---
Laramie (WY)1/7---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
McMurdo1/83 dGRAD (Gamma Ray Advanced Detector)320 km east of Russian Vostok Station, Antarctica
Vanscoy (SK)1/15---PAYLOAD UNKNOWN--- No Data ---
Vanscoy (SK)1/22---PAYLOAD UNKNOWN--- No Data ---
Laramie (WY)1/28---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
ESRANGE2/1---ACIMS (Active Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry) + CRYOGENIC SAMPLER--- No Data ---
Cachoeira Paulista (SP)2/36 hX-RAY AND GAMMA TELESCOPESPayload lost.
Alice Springs2/86 dJACEE 8 (Japanese-American Collaborative Emulsion Experiment)3 miles NW of Pratinha, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Vanscoy (SK)2/9---PAYLOAD UNKNOWN--- No Data ---
ESRANGE2/10---CRYOGENIC SAMPLER (KFA)--- No Data ---
Fort Sumner (NM)2/11---SF-372 MATERIAL TEST7 miles NW of Texico, Texas, US
Alice Springs2/169 dGAMMA RAY EXPERIMENTMogi Mirim, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Laramie (WY)3/2---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
TIFR Hyderabad3/7---INFRARED ASTRONOMYBalloon failed
TIFR Hyderabad3/142 h 20 mIONIZATION MEASUREMENTS + ELECTRO-DYNAMICS EXPERIENCE + IMAP (Indian Middle Atmosphere Program)--- No Data ---
Aire Sur L'Adour4/??---FOCA 1000 (FOcal Corrector Anastigmat 1000)--- No Data ---
Alice Springs4/5---SN87A - II100 miles SSW of Mongrel Downs, Northern Territory, Australia
Alice Springs4/8F 31 hHARD X-RAY TELESCOPE11 miles WNW of Murray Downs, Australia
TIFR Hyderabad4/116 h 30 mIONIZATION MEASUREMENTS + ELECTRO-DYNAMICS EXPERIENCE + IMAP (Indian Middle Atmosphere Program)--- No Data ---
Alice Springs4/1132 h 40 mGRIP (Gamma-Ray Imaging Payload)16 miles W of Ti Tree, Northern Territory, Australia
ESRANGE4/12---MIKROBA 2 (MIKRO-g with Ballon drop capsule)--- No Data ---
Laramie (WY)4/13---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
Alice Springs4/1510 hCOMPTON GAMMA RAY TELESCOPE30 miles N of Erldunda, Northern Territory, Australia
Alice Springs4/18---INFRARED EXPERIMENT61 miles SW of Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory, Australia
Palestine (TX)4/19---SDS (Solar Disk Sextant)10 miles SE of Vicksburg, Mississippi, US
Laramie (WY)4/27---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
Alice Springs4/3024 hGRIS (Gamma-Ray Imaging Spectrometer)174 miles NW of Longbeach, New South Wales, Australia
Palestine (TX)5/5---BLISS (Balloon-borne Laser In-Situ Sensor)10 miles SW of Yazoo City, Mississippi, US
Palestine (TX)5/5---HIGH RESOLUTION IR SOLAR OBSERVATION8 miles N of DeQuincy, Louisiana, US
Alice Springs5/6---GAMMA RAY EXPERIMENTAborted flight
Palestine (TX)5/11~ 14 hDGT (Directional Gamma-Ray Telescope)2 miles N of Burton, Texas, US
Palestine (TX)5/1216.6 hFIRS-2 (Far infrared Fourier transform spectrometer)8 miles W of San Augustine, Texas, US
Alice Springs5/16---GAMMA RAY EXPERIMENT98 miles SE of Longbeach, New South Wales, Australia
Alice Springs5/17---EXITE-1 (Energetic X-Ray Imaging Telescope Experiment)121 miles WNW of Longbeach, New South Wales, Australia
Sanriku5/188 h 40 mOBSERVATION OF IONOSPHERIC ELECTRIC FIELD--- No Data ---
Campinas (SP)5/20---COSMIC RAY DETECTOR--- No Data ---
Sanriku5/21---CRYOGENIC SAMPLER--- No Data ---
Laramie (WY)5/24---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
Palestine (TX)5/257 hBIRT (Balloon-borne InfraRed Telescope)18 miles W of Huntsville Texas, US
Sanriku5/2821 h 40 mEMULSION CHAMBERIn the Sea of Japan, off Sakai, Japan
Palestine (TX)6/49 hBIRT (Balloon-borne InfraRed Telescope)17 miles NW of Lampasas, Texas, US
Palestine (TX)6/6---BALLOON-BORNE LIDAR18 miles ESE of Midland, Texas, US
Palestine (TX)6/6---HIGH RESOLUTION INTERFEROMETER4 miles NE of Cranfills Gap, Texas, US
Sanriku6/613 hANTIPROTON OBSERVATION--- No Data ---
Laramie (WY)6/9---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
Gap-Tallard6/169 hCASOLBA (CAlibration de cellules SOLaires sur vol BAllon)--- No Data ---
Palestine (TX)6/18---TEST OF NEW BALLOON15 miles SW of Gatesville, Texas, US
Birigui (SP)6/188 hSUPERNOVA 1987 A OBSERVATION - IIn Sao Domingos da Prata - Minas Gerais
Gap-Tallard6/18---CHEMILUMINESCENT NO DETECTOR + UV ABSORPTION PHOTOMETER--- No Data ---
Laramie (WY)7/1---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
Palestine (TX)7/6---HARVARD LYMAN-ALPHA HYGROMETER6 miles e of San Saba, Texas, US
Wallops (VA)7/9---ELECTRODYNAMICS--- No Data ---
Wallops (VA)7/12---ELECTRODYNAMICS21 miles SSW of Charlottesville, Virginia, US
Laramie (WY)7/27---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
Wallops (VA)7/27---ELECTRODYNAMICSBalloon burst at 15.000 ft. Payload landed 21 miles NE of Wallops, Virginia, US
Palestine (TX)7/31---TEST OF NEW BALLOON30 miles SW of Brownwood, Texas, US
Trapani8/1~ 2 hTIMR (Thermal Infrared Multichannel Radiometer)In the sea, near Sicily, Italy
Palestine (TX)8/4---SOLAR CELL CALIBRATIONBalloon failure at 41.000 ft. Payload recovered 2 miles NW of palestine, Texas, US
Palestine (TX)8/5---TEST OF NEW BALLOON15 miles SW of Brownwood, Texas, US
Palestine (TX)8/7---SOLAR CELL CALIBRATION8 miles S of Roscoe, Texas, US
Palestine (TX)8/15---TEST OF NEW BALLOON12 miles SW of Brownwood, Texas, US
Kagoshima8/1615 h 20 mX-RAY ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONSIn Jangsu, China
Kagoshima8/2013 h 18 mGALACTIC IR OBSERVATIONSIn China
Kagoshima8/2316 h 7 mGALACTIC ELECTRON OBSERVATIONIn China
Kagoshima8/25---STELLAR IR OBSERVATIONSCommand Fail
Palestine (TX)8/25---CRYOGENIC AIR COLLECTOR16 miles SW of San Angelo, Texas, US
Prince Albert (SK)8/26---HEIST (High Energy Isotope Spectrometer Telescope)25 miles E of Trochu, Alberta, Canada
Prince Albert (SK)8/28---SOFIE (Scintillating Optical Fiber Isotope Experiment)3 miles ESE of Malta, Montana, US
Birigui (SP)9/??---PAYLOAD UNKNOWN--- No Data ---
ESRANGE9/1---PIROG 3 (Pointing InfraRed Observing Gondola)--- No Data ---
Palestine (TX)9/1---ACME (Advanced Cosmic Microwave Explorer)26 miles SSE of Midland, Texas, US
Prince Albert (SK)9/48 hEXAM (EXtragalactic AntiMatter)8 miles NW of Mistatim, Saskatchewan, Canada
Palestine (TX)9/7F 10 h 8 mBALLOON-BORNE LIDAR12 miles NE of Ft.Stockton, Texas, US
Laramie (WY)9/8---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
Palestine (TX)9/13F 23 h 20 mBLISS (Balloon-Borne Laser In Situ Sensor)6 miles ENE of Maryneal, Texas, US
White Sands (NM)9/15---ABLE III (Atmospheric Balloon Lidar Experiment)Over White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, US, USA
Aire Sur L'Adour9/205 hARGO IR TELESCOPE--- No Data ---
Kagoshima9/21---HIMES (Highly Maneuverable Experimental Space Vehicle)Failure of the balloon. Aborted mission. Payload recovered 80 km E of Uchinoura, Japan
Aire Sur L'Adour9/27---PROJECT S38--- No Data ---
Fort Sumner (NM)9/30---ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES20 miles NW of Carrizozo, New Mexico, US
Fort Sumner (NM)10/8---EXITE-1 (Energetic X-Ray Imaging Telescope Experiment)24 miles SSW of Wichita Falls, Texas, US
Aire Sur L'Adour10/13~ 1 hFAR INFRARED TELESCOPEBalloon burst at 25 km
Vanscoy (SK)10/14---PAYLOAD UNKNOWN--- No Data ---
Aire Sur L'Adour10/145 hSIMBA (Solar Irradiance Monitoring from Balloons)In Orange, Vaucluse, France
Fort Sumner (NM)10/17---MIT RADIOMETER27 miles S of Amarillo, Texas, US
MV Independence10/26---KESTREL--- No Data ---
Fort Sumner (NM)10/26---SDS (Solar Disk Sextant)19 miles NW of McAllister, US
Alice Springs10/2844 hGRIS (Gamma-Ray Imaging Spectrometer)61 miles NW of Warrabri, Northern Territory, Australia
Vanscoy (SK)10/29---PAYLOAD UNKNOWN--- No Data ---
Charleville10/2919 h 31 mAROME--- No Data ---
Holloman AFB (NM)11/2---PATHFINDER PROGRAM--- No Data ---
Alice Springs11/2---GAMMA RAY EXPERIMENT34 miles WNW of Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia
Holloman AFB (NM)11/3---PATHFINDER PROGRAM--- No Data ---
TIFR Hyderabad11/5---IMAP (Indian Middle Atmosphere Program) - IMAP-C:09Balloon failed
TIFR Hyderabad11/177 h100 CM TIFR BALLOON-BORNE TELESCOPE--- No Data ---
Alice Springs11/17---COSMIC RAY EXPERIMENT3 miles N of Stirling, Australia
Paardefontein11/1928 dMAGNETIC SENSORLast known position above Australia
Paardefontein11/2019 dELHYSA (Etude de L'Hygromérie Stratosphérique)In Paraguay
Poços de Caldas (MG)11/2412 h 19 mSUPERNOVA 1987 A OBSERVATIONIn Araraquara - Sao Paulo.
Charleville11/2523 h 45 mFIGARO II (French Italian Gamma Ray Observatory)--- No Data ---
Poços de Caldas (MG)11/2813 h 10 mSUPERNOVA 1987 A OBSERVATIONIn Japiraí - Sao Paulo.
Laramie (WY)11/29---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
Holloman AFB (NM)11/29---PATHFINDER PROGRAM--- No Data ---
Holloman AFB (NM)11/30---PATHFINDER PROGRAM--- No Data ---
Paardefontein12/225 dSAMBA--- No Data ---
Paardefontein12/324 dPAYLOAD UNKNOWNOver Ocean N of Australia
Poços de Caldas (MG)12/3---SUPERNOVA 1987 A OBSERVATION - II / COSMIC RAYSPayload lost.
Poços de Caldas (MG)12/8---SUPERNOVA 1987 A OBSERVATIONBalloon failure at launch
Paardefontein12/850 dPAYLOAD UNKNOWNLost contact over the Atlantic Ocean.
Laramie (WY)12/17---AEROSOL COUNTER--- No Data ---
TIFR Hyderabad12/1810 hTICAL MARK II X-RAY TELESCOPE--- No Data ---

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