The super-pressure balloon in Wanaka last May. A team from Nasa is preparing to return to Wanaka Airport for the launch of another super-pressure balloon to conduct near-space scientific investigations. A Queenstown Airport spokeswoman said she understood Nasa was returning to Wanaka in April and that preparations for the visit would start once the team had returned from its recent super-pressure balloon launch in the Antarctic. It will be the third consecutive year Nasa has launched a super-pressure balloon mission from Wanaka Airport. The long-duration balloon flights at constant altitudes provide Nasa with inexpensive access to the near-space environment for science and technology investigations.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 12, 2017 17:13 UTC