In the tables that we present here you will find the complete record of stratospheric balloon launches available in our database 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 the blue badge 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 as much as possible information on the missions performed that year: 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 thirty records incorporated to our database.


Total number of balloon launches in the database: 15292

1947

16

1948

22

1949

48

1950

14

1951

64

1952

140

1953

532

1954

315

1955

334

1956

821

1957

482

1958

879

1959

495

1960

409

1961

405

1962

378

1963

308

1964

461

1965

459

1966

436

1967

364

1968

296

1969

328

1970

357

1971

240

1972

253

1973

236

1974

165

1975

266

1976

210

1977

208

1978

187

1979

228

1980

169

1981

138

1982

147

1983

143

1984

104

1985

109

1986

99

1987

103

1988

113

1989

103

1990

127

1991

112

1992

137

1993

85

1994

110

1995

113

1996

74

1997

110

1998

107

1999

125

2000

123

2001

96

2002

81

2003

82

2004

79

2005

128

2006

109

2007

73

2008

63

2009

50

2010

61

2011

55

2012

96

2013

196

2014

62

2015

50

2016

45

2017

120

2018

192

2019

282

2020

273

2021

153

2022

76

2023

63

Last 30 records incorporated into our database (last update 14-Sep-2023 - 11:55:00pm)

Launch baseDateFlight DurationExperimentPayload landing place or cause of the failure
Hurley (SD)9/12/20232 d 9 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 660NE of Bucyrus, Ohio, US
Hurley (SD)9/8/20235 d 4 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 659Near Byron, New York, US
Fort Sumner (NM)9/7/202313 hHASP 2023 (High Altitude Student Platform)45 km NE of Quemado, New Mexico, US
Tillamook (OR)9/6/20235 hPAYLOAD UNKNOWNNW of Hillsboro, Oregon, US
Hurley (SD)8/30/20237 h 30 mTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 65814 km SW of Hurley, South Dakota, US
Inyokern (CA)8/28/20234 dTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 65718 km NNW of Dyer, Nevada, US
Inyokern (CA)8/28/20233 d 7 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 65614 km N of Dyer, Nevada, US
Inyokern (CA)8/28/20233 d 5 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 654In Inyo National Forest, California, US
Inyokern (CA)8/28/20232 d 6 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 655Inside borders of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, US
Fort Sumner (NM)8/27/20236 h 30 mGRAPE (Gamma-Ray Polarimeter Experiment) + ComPairSW of Albuquerque, New Mexico, US
Timmins (ON)8/27/202314 h 30 mpre-TRANSAT30 km WNW of Timmins, Ontario, Canada
Timmins (ON)8/22/20235 h 10 mHICIBAS56 km W of Gogama, Ontario, Canada
Fort Sumner (NM)8/19/20235 hSALTER TEST FLIGHT20 km NE of Socorro, New Mexico, US
Roswell (NM)8/16/20233 hSCEYE INFINITY- STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIP46 km W of Artesia, New Mexico, US
Page (AZ)8/16/202311 hSTRATOLLITE - GRYPHON 29NW of Mesquite, Nevada, US
Timmins (ON)8/15/2023---BESAFE--- No Data ---
Dagget (CA)8/11/202313 d 3 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 64960 km N of Great Falls, Montana, US
Dagget (CA)8/11/202315 h 45 mTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 65225 km NE of Paso Robles, California, US
Dagget (CA)8/5/202355 mTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 650Balloon failure. 25 km NE of the launch site
Dagget (CA)8/9/20232 d 7 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 65126 km NE of the launch site
Timmins (ON)8/8/20237 h 45 mCOMICSIn the Chapleau Crown Game Preserve, Ontario, Canada
Dagget (CA)8/5/202314 d 12 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 648In Temblor Range, 65 km W of Bakersfield, California, US
Hurley (SD)8/1/20233 dTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 879THNear Brule, Nebraska, US
Dachaidan9/14/2020---MULTI-INSTRUMENTAL PLATFORM--- No Data ---
Taiki7/27/20233 h 20 mGRAMS (Gamma-Ray and AntiMatter Survey)In the Pacific Ocean 35 km SE of Taiki, Japan
Taiki7/26/20232 hMABE-2 (Mars Airplane Balloon Experiment Two)In the Pacific Ocean 40 km E of Taiki, Japan
Page (AZ)7/24/2023---TECHRISE STUDENT CHALLENGELast known position S of Utah, US
Trapani8/12/19822 hBIOLOGY EXPERIMENT--- No Data ---
Trapani8/2/198210 h 40 mTIFANI (Telescope Infrarouge Froid pour l'Astronomie des Nuages Interstellaires)Recovered from the Mediterranean sea, west of the port of Sóller in Mallorca
ESRANGE1/17/1989---TECHNOLOGICAL FLIGHT--- No Data ---