Persistent mission page
A balloon lifts a telescope above almost all the air
At its planned altitude, EXCITE would be above about 99.5% of Earth’s atmosphere while still hanging under a balloon.
WINDOW SETDecember 2026–January 2027 campaign · exact opportunity TBAThe Antarctic campaign is scheduled, but NASA has not published a payload-specific launch instant or webcast.
ENGINEERING DIAGRAM · NOT TO SCALE · EXPECTEDWhy show them
EXCITE is designed to fly at about 132,000 feet—40 kilometers—so its infrared telescope can study how heat moves through the atmospheres of hot Jupiters.
Look for
Balloon inflation, release, climb, and the tracking path are the showable milestones. Useful science data come later and are not guaranteed by a successful launch.
Tell them this
At its planned altitude, EXCITE would be above about 99.5% of Earth’s atmosphere while still hanging under a balloon.
Ask them
Why might a telescope see infrared light more clearly above most of the atmosphere?
What happens next
NASA or the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility publishes a launch opportunity and tracking link.
Update history
What changed
This is the initial edition. Later factual schedule or watch-link changes will appear here with their source and update lineage.
- Content revision
- kids-next-five-8360acce9609df01
- Last source observation
- 2026-08-11T04:20:41Z
- Next milestone
- NASA or the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility publishes a launch opportunity and tracking link.
A featured Kit appears only after its source, copy, visual, and printable revision pass review.