Texas NASA-Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility
The Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility is a NASA facility responsible for launching large unmanned research balloons as high as 120,000 feet (about 2.5 miles). In addition, the facility tracks the scientific experiments attached to the balloons for NASA centers and universities worldwide.The Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) is managed by the Physical Science Lab of New Mexico State University. The contract to manage the facility is administered by the Balloon Program Office at Wallops Flight Facility of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The site provides the services of launching large (400 ft. dia), unmanned, high altitude research balloons; tracking, and recovering the scientific experiments suspended beneath them, for NASA centers and universities from all over the world.