Skip to Content
Uncategorized

NASA Science Balloon Crashes

In the Australian outback, a huge NASA spacecraft has taken a hard fall.

What was suppose to be a regular day of balloon-launching in the Australian outback turned into balloon-dodging. A NASA balloon equipped with two telescopes to survey the sky at an altitude of 36,576 meters crashed on lift-off–a gust of wind sent the balloon sailing horizontally, it wiped through a fence and overturned a sports utility vehicle before smashing into the ground. The balloon narrowly missed nearby spectators.

Credit: Emma Sleath, Australian
Broadcasting Corporation

It’s unclear how much damage the onboard science instruments sustained but by the looks of the video (below) of the incident, taken by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), it can’t be good. The balloon was carrying a gammy-ray telescope built by astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, called the Nuclear Compton Telescope meant to study astrophysical sources in space.

According to ABC news, the crash was “gut-wrenching” for researchers watching, who have spent many years and ample resources on the multi-million dollar balloon. It was built by NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas.

The researchers have been picking up the pieces and will conduct a full investigation of the accident. Meanwhile the Balloon Launching Center in Alice Springs will prepare for another balloon launch in May.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

DeepMind’s cofounder: Generative AI is just a phase. What’s next is interactive AI.

“This is a profound moment in the history of technology,” says Mustafa Suleyman.

What to know about this autumn’s covid vaccines

New variants will pose a challenge, but early signs suggest the shots will still boost antibody responses.

Human-plus-AI solutions mitigate security threats

With the right human oversight, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence can help keep business and customer data secure

Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation

From million-dollar slide shows to Steve Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone, a bit of show business never hurt plain old business.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.