Nasa has postponed the scheduled launch of its super pressure balloon from Wanaka this morning owing to unfavourable weather conditions. However, Nasa has advised that while ground and lower-level winds were conducive for launch this morning, winds in the stratosphere were not. “Had the forecast stratospheric models pushed the balloon further west—not unlike what we saw in our 2016 launch—we would have seriously considered moving forward with our launch attempt,” said Gabe Garde, NASA’s mission manager for the balloon launch. “Unfortunately, there’s too much uncertainty in the final trajectory forecast given the nearby eddy pattern in the stratosphere. Plans are for the 532,000cum balloon to climb to an altitude of 33.5km on what could be a 100-day journey.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 07, 2017 18:03 UTC