Poor weather further delays NASA balloon launch

We were as close as we've ever been in this campaign for launching but the wind direction simply wouldn't support taking the next steps of bringing the balloon out, said mission director Gabe Garde.

Wellington, April 17: NASA has postponed its fifth attempt to launch a giant stadium-sized super pressure balloon SPB from Wanaka, New Zealand, due to poor weather.

The wind was again unsuitable to launch the balloon at the latest scheduled launch time of 7.50 a.m on Monday, the reports said.

"The wind direction on Monday shifted toward the west, which ultimately led to cancellation after hours of waiting for the winds to align," said mission director Gabe Garde.

NASA will continue to assess the weather daily to determine if conditions will support a launch attempt.

The balloon is designed to carry a pioneering telescope to detect ultra-high-energy cosmic rays from near space. The purpose of the flight is to test and validate the SPB technology with the goal of long-duration flight at mid-latitudes.

IANS