NASA’s super pressure balloon hit a new milestone on Tuesday, completing its first circumnavigation of the globe after 14 days, 13 hours and 17 minutes of flight. Flying the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) payload, the 18.8 million-cubic-foot balloon departed from Wanaka Airport, New Zealand, and flew at 53.85 knots, at an altitude of 110,170 feet.
NASA’s Super Pressure Balloon Circumnavigates the Globe
Key Takeaways:
- NASA's super pressure balloon, carrying the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) payload, successfully completed its first circumnavigation of the globe in just over 14 days.
- During the flight, the COSI telescope achieved a significant scientific breakthrough by detecting and localizing its first gamma ray burst.
- The mission highlights the capability of long-duration scientific balloon flights to provide affordable access to the near-space environment for scientific investigations and aims to set a new flight duration record.
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