Beyond Satellites: How NASA’s 18.8M-Cubic-Foot Balloon Is Changing Near-Space Science

When you glance up at the sky just after sunrise or just before sunset, you might catch sight of a faint, pearly sphere drifting against the horizon. That’s no passing weather balloon—it’s NASA’s latest super pressure balloon (SPB), a football-stadium-sized marvel of engineering, currently on course to cross the spine of South America. After launching from Wānaka, New Zealand, on April 16, this 18.8 million-cubic-foot balloon has spent five days harnessing the stratospheric winds to traverse the Pacific Ocean, and is set to skim above Chile and Argentina on April 23 at approximately 2 p.m. EDT (6 p.m.

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