Tables of stratospheric balloons launched worldwide since 1947

In the tables that we present here you will find the complete record of stratospheric balloon launches available in our database separated for years and ordered chronologically. Note that the data entered so far in our database are about 65% of all balloon launch activity worldwide from 1947 to date, so it should not be taken as suitable values for statistics of any kind. It is likely that the process of consolidating all the data available still will take several years to complete.

The little number in the blue badge indicates in each case, the number of records that Stratocat hold in the database for that particular year. Clicking on each year number, you can access tables containing as much as possible information on the missions performed that year: launch base, duration of the flight, purpose of the mission and landing place of the payload. In some cases, clicking in the experiment's name you will access a complete flight data sheet featuring a detailed account of the balloon operations as well the scientific experiments carried, their purpose, results, related links and when available images of different instances of the mission.

Finally in the table at the bottom of this page you will find a snapshot of the last thirty records incorporated to our database.

Total number of balloon launches in the database: 15310							1947 16	1948 22	1949 48
1950 14	1951 64	1952 140	1953 532	1954 315	1955 334	1956 821	1957 482	1958 879	1959 495
1960 409	1961 405	1962 378	1963 308	1964 461	1965 459	1966 436	1967 364	1968 296	1969 328
1970 357	1971 240	1972 253	1973 236	1974 165	1975 266	1976 210	1977 208	1978 187	1979 228
1980 169	1981 138	1982 147	1983 143	1984 104	1985 109	1986 99	1987 103	1988 113	1989 103
1990 127	1991 112	1992 137	1993 85	1994 110	1995 113	1996 74	1997 110	1998 107	1999 125
2000 123	2001 96	2002 81	2003 82	2004 79	2005 128	2006 109	2007 73	2008 63	2009 50
2010 61	2011 55	2012 96	2013 196	2014 62	2015 50	2016 45	2017 120	2018 192	2019 283
2020 273	2021 153	2022 76	2023 80

Last 30 records incorporated into our database (last update 1-Dec-2023 - 11:09:51pm)

Launch base	Date	Flight Duration	Experiment	Payload landing place or cause of the failure
Hurley (SD)	12/1/2023	7 h	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 669	Near Altura, Minnesota, US
Hurley (SD)	11/29/2023	8 h	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT N258TH	Near Center Junction, Iowa, US
Roswell (NM)	11/3/2023	1 h 30 m	SCEYE INFINITY- STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIP	48 km E of Roswell, New Mexico, US
Hurley (SD)	11/2/2023	11 h 50 m	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 667	Near Orangeville, Michigan, US
MCAS Tustin (CA)	3/24/2019	---	AN \|\|FLIGHT #3 (Nott - Johnson?)	Near Warner Springs, California, US
Hurley (SD)	10/24/2023	~ 22 d	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 665	Last known position on the Pacific Ocean 1000 km W of Costa Rica
Hurley (SD)	10/23/2023	~ 22 d	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 661	Last known position on the Pacific Ocean 470 km W of Costa Rica
Franklin (IN)	10/18/2023	13 d 2 h	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 666	SE of Belle Glade, Florida, US
Santa Fe County (NM)	10/17/2023	8 d 5 h	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 664	NW of Marion, Arkansas, US
Réunion Island	10/8/2023	8 h	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 663	Last known position 50 km NE of Reunion Island, Indian Ocean
Réunion Island	10/8/2023	42 h	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 615	Last known position 350 km NW of Mauritius Island, Indian Ocean
León	10/4/2023	2 h 39 m	BLUE JAY #3	N of Gordaliza del Pino, Leon, Spain
Fort Sumner (NM)	9/27/2023	15 h	JPL REMOTE	SE of Dawn, Texas, US
Fort Sumner (NM)	9/25/2023	11 h	FIREBALL (Faint Intergalactic-medium Redshifted Emission Balloon)	North of Vaughan, New Mexico, USA
ESRANGE	9/24/2023	3 h 31 m	BEXUS 32 (Balloon EXperiments for University Students)	--- No Data ---
ESRANGE	9/21/2023	---	BEXUS 33 (Balloon EXperiments for University Students)	--- No Data ---
Hurley (SD)	9/12/2023	2 d 9 h	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 660	NE of Bucyrus, Ohio, US
Hurley (SD)	9/8/2023	5 d 4 h	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 659	Near Byron, New York, US
Fort Sumner (NM)	9/7/2023	13 h	HASP 2023 (High Altitude Student Platform)	45 km NE of Quemado, New Mexico, US
Tillamook (OR)	9/6/2023	5 h	PAYLOAD UNKNOWN	NW of Hillsboro, Oregon, US
Hurley (SD)	8/30/2023	7 h 30 m	SOLD (Stratospheric Optical Link Demonstration)	14 km SW of Hurley, South Dakota, US
Inyokern (CA)	8/28/2023	4 d	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 657	18 km NNW of Dyer, Nevada, US
Inyokern (CA)	8/28/2023	3 d 7 h	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 656	14 km N of Dyer, Nevada, US
Inyokern (CA)	8/28/2023	3 d 5 h	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 654	In Inyo National Forest, California, US
Inyokern (CA)	8/28/2023	2 d 6 h	THUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 655	Inside borders of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, US
Fort Sumner (NM)	8/27/2023	6 h 30 m	GRAPE (Gamma-Ray Polarimeter Experiment) + ComPair	SW of Albuquerque, New Mexico, US
Timmins (ON)	8/27/2023	14 h 30 m	pre-TRANSAT	30 km WNW of Timmins, Ontario, Canada
Timmins (ON)	8/22/2023	5 h 10 m	HICIBAS	56 km W of Gogama, Ontario, Canada
Fort Sumner (NM)	8/19/2023	5 h	SALTER TEST FLIGHT	20 km NE of Socorro, New Mexico, US
Roswell (NM)	8/16/2023	3 h	SCEYE INFINITY- STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIP	46 km W of Artesia, New Mexico, US

Stratospheric balloons

Chronological lists of launches worldwide since 1947

Total number of balloon launches in the database: 15310

Last 30 records incorporated into our database (last update 1-Dec-2023 - 11:09:51pm)

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