NASA set to launch research balloon

abc.net.au Mon, Feb 3 2003 11:36 AM AEDT

NASA set to launch research balloon The American space agency NASA has a careful eye on the weather in central Australia as it prepares to launch a giant research balloon from the Alice Springs airport this week.

Gary Woods from the joint Australia-United States cosmic rays research project says the balloon is 100 metres in diametre and will rise to an altitude of 40 kilometres before circumnavigating earth.

He says Alice Springs is one of only a few locations the balloons will be launched from.

"NASA launch these high altitude balloons around the world and Alice Springs is one of the three sites in the southern hemisphere," he said.

"The other one is in Brazil and the third one, which is more difficult to get at, is actually at the South Pole."