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: 15826

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

502

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

78

2023

85

2024

90

2025

25

Last 30 records incorporated into our database (last update 9-Jun-2025 - 07:48:24am)

Launch baseDateFlight DurationExperimentPayload landing place or cause of the failure
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
Yakima (WA)3/7/2025---LIGHTNING - STATIC FOCUS 3--- No Data ---
Hurley (SD)3/28/20254 h 45 mTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 727Near Hudson, Iowa, US
Aire Sur L'Adour10/19/1981---LIMB CAMERAS--- No Data ---
TIFR Hyderabad1/21/20243 hPAYLOAD UNKNOWN--- No Data ---
TIFR Hyderabad8/12/2024 PAYLOAD UNKNOWN--- No Data ---
TIFR Hyderabad12/5/2024 PAYLOAD UNKNOWN--- No Data ---
TIFR Hyderabad3/29/20259 hPAYLOAD UNKNOWNNear Sangole, India
Webster (SD)3/21/2025---THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 726Wof Sibley, Iowa, US
Webster (SD)3/20/202524 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 725Last known position near Amiret, Minnesota, USA
Chamberlain Muni (SD)3/17/202528 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 724E of Spooner, Wisconsin, US
Hurley (SD)2/22/20255 h 50 mLIGHTNING FLIGHT 718Near Harvey, Iowa, US
Hurley (SD)2/22/20256 hLIGHTNING FLIGHT 719Near Ottumwa, Iowa, US
Gap-Tallard5/??/1969---CERENKOV COUNTER TELESCOPE--- No Data ---
Aire Sur L'Adour9/??/1968---CERENKOV COUNTER TELESCOPE--- No Data ---
Fort Churchill (MB)7/29/197220 h 17 mPAYLOAD UNKNOWNNear Embarras, Alberta, Canada