{
  "id": 7172450,
  "title": "Fourth Balloon of NASA Scientific Balloon Campaign Launches",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/fourth-balloon-of-nasa-scientific-balloon-campaign-launches",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-13T20:09:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "NASA Science",
    "slug": "nasa-science",
    "url": "https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/wallops/2026/09/13/fourth-balloon-of-nasa-scientific-balloon-campaign-launches/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "NASA launched the BOOP! mission aboard a scientific balloon from its facility in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, on September 13, 2026, at 8:03 a.m. MDT (10:03 a.m. EDT). This marks the second year for the Balloon Optimization Opportunity Payload, allowing multiple technology instruments to be tested during flight. The mission carried experiments for future planetary exploration, mapping high-energy space radiation, and evaluating a new flight camera system. The balloon and payload reached an altitude of approximately 123,000 feet and flew for 4 hours and 29 minutes.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}