Welcome to StratoCat, an independent source of historical data and current news on the development of stratospheric balloons for scientific research, aerospace and military applications and commercial explotation of the near space.
Balloon launches by year
Complete list of stratospheric balloon launches by year, ordered chronologically, with flight details, specific payload, images, etc.
Balloon launches by base
Detailed information and launch logs for main balloon launch facilities including balloon bases, airports, and ships around the world.
Detailed flight reports
Ordered chronologically, detailed accounts of many balloon missions containing description of the payloads, details of the flight, pictures, videos and links to external references.
Articles
The stories that shaped scientific ballooning. Events and happenings, many of them memorable and epic, some others funny, a few curious or strange and even some tragedies.
Balloon Encyclopedia
Brief overview of those individuals, organizations, programs and events that had contributed to some extent to the development of scientific ballooning.
On this day...
Remembering important events and dates of scientific ballooning history
Weekly Balloon News # 11 - Chinese balloon edition - March 4th, 2023
In this edition:
- What kind of balloon it was?
- Not an isolated incident, and not a "fleet" of spy balloons.
- Previous sightings. Connecting the dots
- The first downing using missiles? Yes and No
- The "secret" Chinese balloon base
- Science on the edge of reality
- The "weather balloon" explanation 70 years later
Left: The best picture of the Chinese balloon, taken by Frank Melliere above Illinois
Weekly Balloon News is a somewhat regular bulletin containing balloon-related news of what's going on in the field, some speculation (fancy term for "insider data" from sources I can’t reveal), historical images, and details about the new contents that week after week enrich this humble project.
Recent News Archive
Balloons in flight (updated 23-Mar-2023 - 09:02:44am)
| Launched from | In flight since | Payload or experiment | Last known status |
|---|---|---|---|
 Indiantown (FL) | 3/2/2023 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 620 | PROBABLY STILL IN FLIGHT --> Last known position |
| Santa Fe County (NM) | 12/12/2022 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 614 | The balloon completed 100 days aloft on March 22th, 2023. Currently floating above the Atlantic Ocean near the Gulf of Guinea |
Last completed balloon flights (updated 23-Mar-2023 - 09:02:44am)
| Launch base | Date | Experiment | Flight duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurley (SD) | 2023/3/15 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 621 | 2 d 15 h 15 m |
| Fabens (TX) | 2023/3/10 | STRATOLLITE - SCEPTER PERMIAN TEST | 5 h |
 TIFR Hyderabad | 2023/2/17 | FPS100 - INFRARED TELESCOPE | --- |
| Raven campus, Baltic (SD) | 2023/2/10 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 619 | 1 d 21 h |
| Raven campus, Baltic (SD) | 2023/2/7 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 618 | 2 d 16 h |
| Santa Fe County (NM) | 2023/2/1 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 617 | 3 d 11 h 49 m |
| Santa Fe County (NM) | 2023/1/31 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 616 | 2 d 8 h 49 m |
 McMurdo | 2022/12/21 | SPIDER (Suborbital Polarimeter for Inflation Dust and the Epoch of Reionization) | 16 d 7 h |
| TIFR Hyderabad | 2022/12/7 | HALO SPACE CAPSULE FLIGHT TEST | 4 h |
| Spaceport Tucson (AZ) | 2022/12/2 | TEST FLIGHT | 1 h 57 m |
| Paso Robles (CA) | 2022/11/3 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 613 | 17 h |
| Roswell (NM) | 2022/10/30 | SCEYE INFINITY- STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIP | 4 h 30 m |
| Paso Robles (CA) | 2022/10/27 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 612 | 29 h |
| Raven campus, Baltic (SD) | 2022/10/20 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 611 | 49 h |
| Raven campus, Baltic (SD) | 2022/10/18 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 609 | 5 d 5 h |
| Raven campus, Baltic (SD) | 2022/10/18 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 610 | 10 d |
| Madras Muni. (OR) | 2022/10/12 | PAYLOAD UNKNOWN | 2 h |
| Madras Muni. (OR) | 2022/10/7 | PAYLOAD UNKNOWN | --- |
 Dachaidan | 2022/10/4 | SOLAR CORONAGRAPH | --- |
| Dachaidan | 2022/10/2 | SOLAR CELL CALIBRATION | 2 h |
| Dachaidan | 2022/9/30 | HEAVY PAYLOAD TEST | 2 h 24 m |
| Raven campus, Baltic (SD) | 2022/9/28 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 608 | ~ 8 d |
| Dachaidan | 2022/9/28 | MULTI-INSTRUMENTAL PLATFORM | 12 h 38 m |
| Fort Sumner (NM) | 2022/9/28 | PICTURE-C (Planetary Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Recoverable Experiment - Coronagraph) | 19 h 20 m |
| Fort Sumner (NM) | 2022/9/22 | TINMAN (ThermalIzed Neutron MeAsuremeNt experiment) | 7 h 30 m |
| Page (AZ) | 2022/9/15 | STRATOLLITE - GRYPHON XXVI | 10 d |
| Santa Fe County (NM) | 2022/9/10 | THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 607 | 1 h |
| Fort Sumner (NM) | 2022/9/8 | HASP 2022 (High Altitude Student Platform) | 21 h 7 m |
 ESRANGE | 2022/9/7 | HEMERA ZPB2022 | 11 h 30 m |
| Fort Sumner (NM) | 2022/9/7 | BALBOA (BALloon-Based Observations for sunlit Aurora) | 8 h 45 m |
