back to article NASA 'Kilo-Kitty' Super Pressure Balloon goes aloft at last

NASA's latest attempt to launch its Super Pressure Balloon (SPB) in New Zealand has gone off without a hitch. The launch of the kilo-kitty mission had suffered repeated weather delays. After deciding to go ahead today, the balloon was laid out and a tow balloon inflated to lift the tip of the SPB off the ground. That was …

  1. spudmasterflex

    Still a smaller gas bag than my wife.

    1. 45RPM Silver badge

      I feel sorry for your wife. If you don't like her talking, why did you marry her?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        yay, a crap joke followed by a crappier morally righteous statement.

  2. kmac499

    Maybe NASA, Facebook et al ought to phone the UK HAB enthusiasts. They are forever throwing ballons and Raspberry PI's up 30,000m

  3. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    And since when is 'Goodyear Blimp' an acceptable unit of volume on El Reg?

    1. Andy E

      Would that be the metric or imperial Goodyear Blimp?

      1. Captain DaFt

        "Would that be the metric or imperial Goodyear Blimp?"

        I believe that Goodyear Blimp is the imperial, and Fuji Blimp is the metric.

        Come to think of it, I've never actually seen a Goodyear Blimp in my life, but have seen several Fuji Blimps.

    2. Anonymous Blowhard

      “as large as 92 Goodyear blimps”

      Should at least be 9.2 dekablimps or 0.92 hectoblimps (according to NIST)

      1. Katy_B

        WTF is wrong with you all?

        The standard unit of measure for large volumes is the Albert Hall. Could we dispense with this creeping Americanisation of our units system?

        Oddly enough 92 Goodyear blimps equate to 90 Albert Halls.

  4. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
    Joke

    In the interest of the environment

    Couldn't we make an even bigger balloon by filling it with all the hot gases produced by politicians of all nations?

    On the other hand, maybe it wouldn't get off the ground, just as most ideas vented by said politicians.

    More seriously: good work from NASA getting the balloon launched after all.

    1. Anonymous Custard
      Joke

      Re: In the interest of the environment

      It wouldn't be big enough, even at SPB scales...

  5. Haku

    "the SPB is carrying is a gamma ray telescope"

    Are they looking for Bruce Banner?

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Proper measurements please.

    What is the volume of 92 Goodyear blimps in relation to the volume of Wales?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Goodyear blimps are American. There is no metric version.

    Wales is a unit of area, not volume.

    1. 45RPM Silver badge

      Quite right. Whales is the accepted unit of volume - Whales, KilaWhales and so forth.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        "KilaWhales"

        Are they the ones with the frikken lasers?

      2. KA1AXY

        1 whale = how many Bulgarian airbags?

      3. benderama

        Why has this received 0 upvotes?

  8. ma1010
    Black Helicopters

    The real payload?

    In other news today, the US Secretary of Defense emphatically denied rumors that the balloon payload contained thousands of combat-trained felines to be released when the balloon passed over suspected terrorist locations.

  9. energystar
    Mushroom

    That makes about 2000 KCats.

    Forcing Détente talks.

  10. JeffyPoooh
    Pint

    CRIKEY ! SHE'S HEADED ALMOST STRAIGHT FOR SYDNEY

    Which is nice.

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