It takes around an hour to fill a 39-million-cubic-foot scientific balloon with helium. The EXCITE telescope is poised for launch as the day breaks on August 31st, 2024.

This image shows the curvature of the Earth from 130,000 feet. It was taken remotely by a camera on EXCITE. The red blob at the top of the frame is the parachute.

The Scientific balloon eclipses the sun as it fills with helium, and the High Altitude Student Platform awaits launch. On August 28, 2024, the student-run mission launched from a 4-million-cubic-foot balloon for its second flight.

Filling a 4 million cubic foot balloon with Helium for the High Altitude Student Platform 2.0 Mission (HASP).

On August 31, 2024, the EXCITE (EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope) team conducted a test flight of their telescope from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Here, EXCITE’s Principal Investigator, Peter Nagler, watches his mission take flight.