TOMEX+ Launch Replace – Aug. 18

Four days into flight, NASA’s second tremendous stress balloon launched through the company’s New Zealand marketing campaign stays close to the nation floating in a wind sample circulating round and over the nation’s North Island.  

The take a look at flight is predicted to stay over land for about 5 extra hours earlier than catching zonal winds that can carry it eastward alongside its typical trajectory across the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-latitudes.  

Before any land overflight happens, a radical evaluation is product of the balloon’s well being and the forecast trajectory is analyzed from a security perspective earlier than starting the overflight. 

“We are very proud of all the hard work the team has invested to get us this far,” stated Andrew Hamilton, deputy chief of NASA’s Balloon Program Office on the company’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. “The balloon has been performing well, and we are continuing to gather more data and information on the performance of the balloon system. New Zealand is an ideal location for this kind of mission, allowing us to have extended time in the stratosphere as we circle the globe.” 

If climate permits, the balloon could also be seen from the bottom, notably at dawn and sundown. NASA invitations the general public to trace the balloon’s path in real-time here.  

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