NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program successfully launched its football-stadium-sized, heavy-lift super pressure balloon from Wānaka Airport.

The balloon took off at 11:42 a.m on a mission planned for 100 or more days.

NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program chief Debbie Fairbrother said “Mother Nature shined down beautifully today given us the perfect conditions for a brilliant launch.”

“I’m excited for this mission and the cutting-edge science it will perform” she said. 

The balloon will float at 110,000 feet (33.5 km) with the winds carrying it about the southern hemisphere’s mid-latitude band.

The balloon is carrying the Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT), from Princeton University, which uses a wide field of view to image large galaxy clusters from a balloon platform in a near-space environment.

Correction: Balloon took off at 11:24 New Zealand Time not US pacific time – Updated 2pm