3 May 2025

The second super pressure balloon flight of NASA’s New Zealand Balloon Campaign is now at float at 108,000 feet after lifting off from Wānaka Airport, New Zealand, at 11:38 a.m. NZST, Sunday, May 4 (7:38 p.m., Saturday, May 3 in U.S. Eastern Time). The football-stadium-sized, heavy-lift super pressure balloon is on a mission planned for up to 100 days about the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-latitudes to further test and qualify the super pressure balloon technology.

“The picture perfect launch and ascent into float of our second super pressure balloon caps off a highly successful New Zealand campaign,” said Gabriel Garde, chief of NASA’s Balloon Program Office at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. “To have both missions aloft and nearby one another is phenomenal for such a complex mission operation. Our launch team as well as all of the crucial support both onsite and remote enabled are what made this possible and we could not be more pleased.” 

The helium-filled 18.8 million-cubic-foot balloon ascended at a rate of about 1,000 feet per minute, fully inflating along the way until it reached its operational float altitude of about 110,000 feet (33.5 km) above Earth’s surface around two hours after launch. While the mission will spend most of its time over water, some land crossings will occur. If weather permits, the balloon may be visible from the ground, particularly at sunrise and sunset. NASA invites the public to track the balloon’s path in real-time here.

While the balloon flight’s primary mission is further test and qualify the agency’s super pressure balloon technology, it is also carrying several smaller science investigations and technology demonstrations.

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NASA’s super pressure balloon launched from New Zealand May 3, 2025, to test and qualify the super pressure balloon technology.