High-flyer deflates

NASA’s experimental Ultra Long Duration Balloon sprang a leak less than two
hours after being launched on its test flight from Alice Springs in Australia
last Sunday, forcing it to land about 250 kilometres west of the launch site.
It’s a bit of a mystery, says Henry Cathey, ULDB’s vehicle manager. “It was a
beautiful launch, and it went exactly as we planned.” The balloon is designed to
float up to 35 kilometres above the Earth for 100 days, doing the work of a
satellite at a fraction of the cost.