Stratospheric Balloons

History and present of their use in the fields of science, military and aerospace

StratoCat is an independent source of historical data and current news on the development of stratospheric balloons for scientific research, aerospace and military applications, and commercial exploitation of 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 every month important events and dates of scientific ballooning history

In this edition:

  • First balloons launched on La Reunion
  • Aerostar balloons over the Atlantic and Texas
  • Iwaya tests manned capsule at 10 km
  • B2Space balloon over Spain
  • GUSTO telescope delivered to Antarctica

Weekly Balloon News # 11 - Chinese balloon edition - March 4th, 2023

Contents:

  • 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

World 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 30-Nov-2023 - 10:46:27am)


NO BALLOONS IN FLIGHT AT THE MOMENT


Last completed balloon flights (updated 30-Nov-2023 - 10:46:27am)

Launch baseDateExperimentFlight duration
 Fort Sumner (NM)2023/9/7HASP 2023 (High Altitude Student Platform)13 h
 Tillamook (OR)2023/9/6PAYLOAD UNKNOWN5 h
 Fort Sumner (NM)2023/9/27JPL REMOTE15 h
 Fort Sumner (NM)2023/9/25FIREBALL (Faint Intergalactic-medium Redshifted Emission Balloon)11 h
 ESRANGE2023/9/24BEXUS 32 (Balloon EXperiments for University Students)3 h 31 m
 ESRANGE2023/9/21BEXUS 33 (Balloon EXperiments for University Students)---
 Hurley (SD)2023/9/12THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 6602 d 9 h
 Hurley (SD)2023/9/8THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 6595 d 4 h
 Inyokern (CA)2023/8/28THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 6574 d
 Timmins (ON)2023/8/8COMICS7 h 45 m
 Dagget (CA)2023/8/5THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 65055 m
 Hurley (SD)2023/8/1THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 879TH3 d
 Inyokern (CA)2023/8/28THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 6543 d 5 h
 Inyokern (CA)2023/8/28THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 6563 d 7 h
 Hurley (SD)2023/8/30SOLD (Stratospheric Optical Link Demonstration)7 h 30 m
 Inyokern (CA)2023/8/28THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 6552 d 6 h
 Fort Sumner (NM)2023/8/27GRAPE (Gamma-Ray Polarimeter Experiment) + ComPair6 h 30 m
 Timmins (ON)2023/8/27pre-TRANSAT14 h 30 m
 Dagget (CA)2023/8/11THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 64913 d 3 h
 Timmins (ON)2023/8/22HICIBAS5 h 10 m
 Dagget (CA)2023/8/5THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 64814 d 12 h
 Fort Sumner (NM)2023/8/19SALTER TEST FLIGHT5 h
 Page (AZ)2023/8/16STRATOLLITE - GRYPHON 2911 h
 Roswell (NM)2023/8/16SCEYE INFINITY- STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIP3 h
 Timmins (ON)2023/8/15BESAFE---
 Dagget (CA)2023/8/11THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 65215 h 45 m
 Dagget (CA)2023/8/9THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 6512 d 7 h
 Hurley (SD)2023/7/21THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 63810 d 22 h
 Taiki2023/7/9RERA #3 (Rubber balloon Experiment for Reentry capsule with thin-type Aeroshell)~ 2 h
 Taiki2023/7/8RERA #2 (Rubber balloon Experiment for Reentry capsule with thin-type Aeroshell)~ 2 h
 Hurley (SD)2023/6/28THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 6358 d 19 h
 Taiki2023/7/27GRAMS (Gamma-Ray and AntiMatter Survey)3 h 20 m
 Taiki2023/7/26MABE-2 (Mars Airplane Balloon Experiment Two)2 h
 Hurley (SD)2023/5/3THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 62883 d 8 h
 Page (AZ)2023/7/24TECHRISE STUDENT CHALLENGE---
 Hurley (SD)2023/7/21TECHRISE STUDENT CHALLENGE8 h
 Palestine (TX)2023/7/16WHATSUP (Water Hunting Advanced Terahertz Spectrometer on a Ultra Small Platform)6 h 20 m
 Hurley (SD)2023/7/11THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 6362 d 13 h
 Hurley (SD)2023/6/21THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 63420 d 6 h
 Roswell (NM)2023/7/1SCEYE INFINITY- STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIP4 h
 Hurley (SD)2023/5/24THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 629 - TechLeap Prize12 d
 Hurley (SD)2023/6/20THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 63335 h
 Hurley (SD)2023/6/13THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 63148 h
 Hurley (SD)2023/6/13THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 63243 h
 Hurley (SD)2023/6/14TECHRISE STUDENT CHALLENGE7 h 20 m
 Indiantown (FL)2023/3/2THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 62062 d
 Wanaka2023/4/15SuperBIT (Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope)39 d 13 h
 Roswell (NM)2023/5/17SCEYE INFINITY- STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIP2 h 30 m
 Wanaka2023/5/13EUSO-SPB2 (Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super-Pressure Balloon 2)37 h
 Tillamook (OR)2023/5/12PAYLOAD UNKNOWN1 h 40 m
 Alice Springs2023/5/11SRC (Sample Return Capsule)7 h