Balloon-borne telescope

[2] A number of different instruments have since been carried aloft by balloons for observation in the infrared, microwave, X-ray and gamma ray bands.

The BOOMERanG experiment, flown between 1997–2003,[3] and the MAXIMA, which made flights in 1998 and 1999,[4] were used to map the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.

The azimuth stability can be maintained by a magnetometer, plus a gyroscope or star tracker for shorter term corrections.

[17] ASTHROS (Astrophysics Stratospheric Telescope for High Spectral Resolution Observations at Submillimeter-wavelengths) will launch from the Antarctic and is envisioned to last for four weeks.

The current best estimate for the weight of the observatory, including the gondola, solar panels, antenna, scientific instrument and communication systems, is about 5,500 pounds (2,500 kilograms).

Skyhook balloon , launched September 1957 as part of Project Stratoscope, photographed the Sun in high resolution
Overview of wavelengths observable at different altitudes.
NASA’s ASTHROS balloon observatory