Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility

CSBF has a threefold mission: The Balloon Facility was established by Vincent E. Lally at NCAR in Boulder, Colorado in 1961 under the auspices of the National Science Foundation.

It was moved to Palestine, Texas in 1963 and designated as the National Scientific Balloon Facility (NSBF) in January 1973.

Its Texas location put the NSBF in the middle of the area where the debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia dropped to Earth on February 1, 2003.

The balloons are filled with helium gas, can carry payloads up to 3,600 kilograms (7,900 pounds), fly at altitudes of up to 42 kilometers (26 miles), and can remain at float in excess of 40 days.

[2] After the Travalb-1 launch abort, the Travalb-2 lifted off on 29 December 2019 to test NASA balloon trajectory predictions in Antarctica and to study electron losses from Earth's radiation belts.

Scientific teams ship a payload to the launch site, and set up a small field station to assemble their equipment, make last-minute preparations, and manage the experiment during flight.

Launching a balloon requires the conjunction of light low-level winds (to comply with the limitations of the CSBF dynamic launch technique) and suitable upper-level winds (so the balloon remains within telemetry range of a ground station, and within the permitted flight region).

An astronomical telescope, for example, can be real time directed toward a variety of sources for observations, or left in an autonomous mode of operation.

Approximately 3 hours from Houston, CSBF provides facilities that NASA can utilize for short-term control of the ISS in case MCC is evacuated.