Here you can browse StratoCat's comprehensive database of stratospheric balloon launches, sorted by year. Please note that while the database covers approximately 75% of global balloon launch activity since 1947, it does not provide statistically representative values yet. Consolidating all available data may take several years. Each blue badge number represents the launches performed for that year. Click on a year to view details of the flights including launch base, flight duration, mission purpose, and payload landing location. Some experiments offer further details such as operational accounts, scientific objectives, results, reference links, and related images. For the latest updates, check out the table at the bottom of this page featuring the thirty most recent database entries.


Total number of balloon launches in the database: 15841

1947

16

1948

22

1949

48

1950

14

1951

64

1952

141

1953

532

1954

315

1955

336

1956

825

1957

483

1958

879

1959

504

1960

429

1961

407

1962

393

1963

341

1964

464

1965

482

1966

442

1967

386

1968

328

1969

347

1970

367

1971

248

1972

263

1973

244

1974

181

1975

271

1976

213

1977

210

1978

191

1979

235

1980

193

1981

140

1982

156

1983

146

1984

108

1985

115

1986

105

1987

104

1988

128

1989

103

1990

127

1991

113

1992

137

1993

86

1994

112

1995

113

1996

74

1997

112

1998

107

1999

125

2000

123

2001

96

2002

81

2003

82

2004

102

2005

128

2006

109

2007

73

2008

63

2009

66

2010

74

2011

56

2012

96

2013

196

2014

62

2015

50

2016

46

2017

119

2018

191

2019

283

2020

274

2021

155

2022

79

2023

85

2024

91

2025

36

Last 30 records incorporated into our database (last update 13-Jul-2025 - 01:04:44pm)

Launch baseDateFlight DurationExperimentPayload landing place or cause of the failure
Page (AZ)6/30/20254 h 20 mOPTIMUS-2100 km SE of Page, Arizona, US
International Falls (MN)8/5/195913 hANIMAL CAPSULE - ASTRO 59-2--- No Data ---
Sioux Falls (SD)6/30/1959---ANIMAL CAPSULE - ASTRO 59-1Balloon lost in a thunderstorm. Never recovered
Madras Muni. (OR)6/27/202512 dTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 771E of Wakonda, South Dakota, US
Queensland10/12/2022---SZ-155 STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIP--- No Data ---
Queensland12/1/20241 hSZ-155 STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIPIn a grass field near the launch site, Queensland, Australia
Ft. Huachuca (AZ)5/23/202527 hLIGHTNING 761 - ARCANE THUNDER 25NW of Wilcox, Arizona, US
Queensland5/5/202511 h 12 mSZ-155 STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIP--- No Data ---
Page (AZ)6/16/20257 hTECHRISE STUDENT CHALLENGE100 km SE of Page, Arizona, US
Ft. Huachuca (AZ)5/25/202545 mLIGHTNING 752 - ARCANE THUNDER 25--- No Data ---
Ft. Huachuca (AZ)5/25/202532 hLIGHTNING 747 - ARCANE THUNDER 25--- No Data ---
Ft. Huachuca (AZ)5/25/202531 hLIGHTNING 746 - ARCANE THUNDER 25--- No Data ---
Ft. Huachuca (AZ)5/25/202531 h 6 mLIGHTNING 745 - ARCANE THUNDER 25--- No Data ---
Ft. Huachuca (AZ)5/23/202532 hLIGHTNING 744 - ARCANE THUNDER 25Between Safford and Wilcox, Arizona, US
Andennes5/31/202528 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 762In the Norwegian Sea
Ft. Huachuca (AZ)5/23/202530 hLIGHTNING 743 - ARCANE THUNDER 25Last known position N of Wilcox, Arizona, US
Ft. Huachuca (AZ)5/22/20251 hLIGHTNING 751 - ARCANE THUNDER 25Near Tombstone, Arizona, US
Four Pillars (AZ)5/21/20259 hLIGHTNING 742 - ARCANE THUNDER 25SE of Wilcox, Arizona, US
Empire Ranch (AZ)5/21/20259 h 15 mLIGHTNING 736 - ARCANE THUNDER 25SE of Wilcox, Arizona, US
Four Pillars (AZ)5/19/202510 mLIGHTNING 739 - ARCANE THUNDER 25--- No Data ---
Ft. Huachuca (AZ)5/17/202520 mLIGHTNING 750 - ARCANE THUNDER 25In Fort Huachuca, Arizona, US
Nogales (AZ)5/16/202510 hLIGHTNING 738 - ARCANE THUNDER 25W of Wilcox, Arizona, US
Nogales (AZ)5/16/202510 h 30 mLIGHTNING 737 - ARCANE THUNDER 25NW of Wilcox, Arizona, US
Ft. Huachuca (AZ)5/17/202530 mLIGHTNING 749 - ARCANE THUNDER 25In Fort Huachuca, Arizona, US
Vidalia (GA)5/6/20251 h 10 mPAYLOAD UNKNOWNIn Fort Stewart, Georgia, US
Wanaka5/4/20259 d 6 h 36 mSUPER-PRESSURE BALLOON TEST SN1225 nautical miles NW of Estancia Los Alamos, Chubut, Argentina
Atlas Alpha Jaen3/26/2025---PAYLOAD UNKNOWN--- No Data ---
Wanaka4/16/202517 d 13 h 47 mHIWIND (High-altitude Interferometer WIND Experiment)Sank in the Pacific Ocean in a point located 285 miles SE of Chatham Islands
Hurley (SD)4/15/202561 dTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 72860 km NNE of Lamar, Colorado, US
Yakima (WA)3/7/2025---LIGHTNING - STATIC FOCUS 3--- No Data ---