That Mysterious Object in the Sky Was No Weather Balloon

SAN ANGELO, TX --  The mysterious object in the skies above San Angelo on Wednesday was not a weather balloon according to information from NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, TX.  

CSBF says it was superBIT Flight number 1599P, an unmanned, high altitude, scientific research platform.  SuperBIT was launched from Palestine, TX and flew 227 nautical miles from the launch site and landed on the Espy Ranch near Fort McKavett.  

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Above: The NASA SuperBIT balloon landed on the Espy Ranch in Fort Mckavett on June 6, 2018. (Contributed/Tammie Baze)

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Above: The BETTII payload, another type of payload and NASA balloon program that was just re-opened after the Sterling City payload crash last year. (BETTII Facebook Page)

On June 9, 2017 a similar scientific balloon’s payload crashed near Sterling City.  

CSBF site manager Dwayne Orr said Thursday morning the superBIT is a Superpressure Balloon- born Imaging Telescope.  “SuperBIT is the latest technology imaging system that was taking images of Jupiter and the Pillars of Creation. It also uses infrared imaging and spectroscopy to take images at near space altitude.”  Orr said.

Orr said when they launch the superBIT, they have a chase plane and a recovery crew following its every move.  “They have already picked up the superBIT from the landing site.” Orr said.

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Above: The NASA SuperBIT balloon landed on the Espy Ranch in Fort Mckavett on June 6, 2018. (Contributed/Tammie Baze)

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia manages the agency’s scientific balloon flight program with 10 to 15 flights each year from launch sites worldwide. Orbital ATK, which operates NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, provides mission planning, engineering services and field operations for NASA’s scientific balloon program. The CSBF team has launched more than 1,700 scientific balloons in the over 35 years of operation.

The 1,540-pound SuperBIT payload will fly on a 29.47-million-cubic-foot scientific balloon; when fully inflated, the balloon is as large as a football stadium. As the balloon ascends to its operational float altitude of 126,000 feet, it may be visible from the ground, particularly at sunset and sunrise. Anyone can track real-time operational status of the balloon mission by visiting www.csbf.nasa.gov/palestine/psn.htm.