RELEASE: H01-28

NASA ABORTS SPACE RESEARCH BALLOON FLIGHT

NASA scientists are working to determine why the maiden flight of a giant research balloon designed to fly around the world at the edge of space was cut short.

After developing a leak, the test mission of the Ultra-Long Duration Balloon (ULDB) was terminated a little more than 4 hours into the flight. The large scientific balloon lifted off Sunday morning from Alice Springs, Australia. The ULDB reached an altitude of nearly 85,000 feet before the decision was made to bring the balloon and its payload down.

The balloon and its scientific payload landed 132 miles west- southwest of the launch site. There were no injuries or damage to personal property. The payload landed upright and appears to be in excellent condition. The cause of the leak is not yet known and recovery operations are underway.

"A team is reviewing data from the flight and examining the recovered balloon. A recommendation is expected by the end of this week concerning the possible flight of a backup balloon that NASA has available in Alice Springs," said Steve Smith, Chief of the Balloon Program Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA. "We are confident in the ULDB concept and in providing scientists with a new means of studying the Earth and space," he said.

The ULDB is the largest single-cell, fully sealed balloon ever flown. While the test flight was expected to last about two weeks, the ULDB is designed to support missions for up to 100 days. Balloons provide cost-effective platforms for near-space observations.

The ULDB floats above 99 percent of the Earth's atmosphere and was carrying a 4,500 pound (2041.2 kilogram) payload. The pumpkin-shaped balloon is composed of a lightweight polyethylene film about the thickness of ordinary plastic food wrap. Further information on the ULDB program can be found on the Internet at:  http://www.wff.nasa.gov/~uldb/index.html