Here you can browse StratoCat's comprehensive database of stratospheric balloon launches, sorted by year. Please note that while the database covers approximately 75% of global balloon launch activity since 1947, it does not provide statistically representative values yet. Consolidating all available data may take several years. Each blue badge number represents the launches performed for that year. Click on a year to view details of the flights including launch base, flight duration, mission purpose, and payload landing location. Some experiments offer further details such as operational accounts, scientific objectives, results, reference links, and related images. For the latest updates, check out the table at the bottom of this page featuring the thirty most recent database entries.


Total number of balloon launches in the database: 15604

1947

16

1948

22

1949

48

1950

14

1951

64

1952

141

1953

532

1954

315

1955

335

1956

824

1957

482

1958

879

1959

499

1960

427

1961

406

1962

384

1963

312

1964

463

1965

464

1966

440

1967

368

1968

305

1969

346

1970

367

1971

247

1972

258

1973

240

1974

179

1975

270

1976

213

1977

210

1978

191

1979

235

1980

191

1981

139

1982

152

1983

146

1984

108

1985

114

1986

105

1987

104

1988

128

1989

103

1990

127

1991

113

1992

137

1993

86

1994

111

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

46

2017

119

2018

191

2019

283

2020

274

2021

155

2022

78

2023

85

2024

80

Last 30 records incorporated into our database (last update 13-Dec-2024 - 01:47:57am)

Launch baseDateFlight DurationExperimentPayload landing place or cause of the failure
Akron (OH)2/5/1959 RADAR AND CAMERASSomewhere in Wisconsin, US
Syowa2/3/202461 hLODEWAVE (LOng-Duration balloon Experiment of gravity WAVE over Antarctica)--- No Data ---
Syowa1/8/202466 hLODEWAVE (LOng-Duration balloon Experiment of gravity WAVE over Antarctica)--- No Data ---
Aire Sur L'Adour10/??/1966 UV TELESCOPE--- No Data ---
Aire Sur L'Adour9/21/1965---UV TELESCOPE--- No Data ---
Aire Sur L'Adour6/??/1965~ 5 hUV TELESCOPE--- No Data ---
Aire Sur L'Adour12/8/1964~ 4 hUV TELESCOPE250 km from the launch site
Taiki8/21/2024~ 2 hHIGHPER (High-altitude Propeller Evaluation Research)In the Pacific Ocean, 96 km SSE of Taiki, Japan
Hurley (SD)11/8/202428 dTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 647Last known position was over the Guinea Gulf
Holloman AFB (NM)3/26/1963---PROJECT STARGAZER II (Kittinger - White)Aborted flight.
León9/8/2022---BLUE JAY 2022--- No Data ---
Spaceport Snowdonia3/20/2020---CALL TO ORBIT PROGRAM--- No Data ---
León9/10/2024---BLUE JAY 2024--- No Data ---
Kourou10/31/20242 h 55 mBALMAN - TEST FLIGHTImpact in the Atlantic Ocean, 42 km NE of Kourou, French Guiana
Santa Cruz County (CA)10/23/20246 hPAYLOAD UNKNOWN33 km SW of Tonopah, Nevada, US
Roswell (NM)10/24/202410 h 30 mSCEYE- STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIPIn Borden County, Texas, US
Albi10/11/20243 hLUCY CAPSULE (Farret d'Astiès - Jarrousse)Near Liausson, France
Beecroft Weapons Range10/9/20247 dTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 712Ditched in the Tasman Sea, 130 km E of Jarvis Bay, Australia
Elizabeth City (NC)10/8/2024+ 28 hCYCLONE FLIGHT 711Last known position 550 km NNE of Bermuda
ESRANGE10/4/2024---BEXUS 34 (Balloon EXperiments for University Students)--- No Data ---
ESRANGE10/2/2024---BEXUS 35 (Balloon EXperiments for University Students)--- No Data ---
Hurley (SD)9/26/20249 hFIGARO (5G Array for Lunar Relay Operations)5 km S of Bricelyn, Minnesota, US
Hurley (SD)9/23/20247 d 21 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 708Near Bristow, Iowa, US
Fort Sumner (NM)9/24/20249 h 52 mDR-TES (Dilution Refrigerator Transition Edge Sensor)In Mescalero Reservation, New Mexico, US
Fort Sumner (NM)9/23/20248 hTIM (Terahertz Intensity Mapper)In Deaf Smith County, Texas, US
MS Voyager9/15/20248 hNEPTUNE EXCELSIOR CAPSULE TEST #1In the Gulf of Mexico, 175 miles WSW of the starting point.
Page (AZ)9/15/202420 dSTRATOLLITE14 km S of Dexter, Kansas, US
Capitan (NM)9/12/202418 h 20 mTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 70730 km W of Moriarty, New Mexico, US
Capitan (NM)9/12/202415 hTHUNDERHEAD FLIGHT 706Near Corona, New Mexico, US
Fort Sumner (NM)9/4/202411 h 30 mHASP 2024 (High Altitude Student Platform)50 km SW of Grants, New Mexico, US