What Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility does

The Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF), headquartered in Palestine, Texas, is a NASA-owned facility managed by prime contractor Peraton under a contract administered by the Balloon Program Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center / Wallops Flight Facility. Established in 1961 under the National Science Foundation and transferred to NASA sponsorship in 1982, CSBF plans and conducts scientific balloon launch, tracking, and recovery operations for NASA centers, U.S. and international universities, and foreign research agencies, with operational reach spanning Palestine, Texas; Fort Sumner, New Mexico; and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Customers include 35 universities, 23 research agencies, and 33 foreign groups across 13 countries, with principal investigators using balloons for cosmic ray studies, gamma/X-ray astronomy, optical/UV astronomy, infrared astronomy, atmospheric sciences, magnetospherics, micrometeorite particles, and cosmic microwave background studies.

CSBF's technical platform centers on three ballooning modalities: Conventional Ballooning (zero-pressure polyethylene balloons up to 400 ft diameter, 8,000-lb payloads, 42 km altitude, flight durations of hours to days); Long Duration Ballooning (LDB) for continental circumnavigation missions lasting up to three weeks using satellite-based command and telemetry; and Ultra Long Duration Ballooning (ULDB), which uses superpressure pumpkin-shaped balloons made of advanced sealed materials with onboard solar power, computing, and communications to target flight durations up to 100 days. Engineering support spans balloon system and material design, electronics, gondola and thermal analysis, power systems, instrumentation design and integration, and recovery systems. Notable performance includes a 57-day 7-hour GUSTO heavy-balloon float, a 157,551-ft altitude record on the 60MCF Test Flight, and an over-4-month ELBBO superpressure balloon mission for the University of Washington.

CSBF operates as a single-payer, government-funded services entity. Revenue flows through NASA appropriations administered via the Peraton contract, with no public pricing or commercial sales motion. Operations are also conducted in partnership with the National Science Foundation's U.S. Antarctic Program for McMurdo-based LDB campaigns, with international partners including the Swedish Space Corporation's ESRANGE, and with commercial suppliers including Aerostar's Balloon Plant in Sulphur Springs, Texas for balloon fabrication and AESOP / LEE Balloon Instruments for research payloads. Customer engagement relies on institutional channels — scientific conference participation, NASA-program referrals, public tours, and live-streamed operations — rather than commercial marketing.

Name

Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility

Legal name

Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility

Website

https://csbf.nasa.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility is a NASA-owned, Peraton-managed facility in Palestine, Texas that provides launch, tracking, and recovery services for high-altitude scientific balloons serving NASA centers, 35 universities, and international research groups across 13 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Balloon Launch Services

NAICS

Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414), Space Research and Technology (927)

SIC

Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760), Airports, Flying Fields & Airport Terminal Services (4581)

akta.pro primary industry

UAS Launch/Recovery & Support Equipment (Catapults, Nets, Docking) (IMABAIAN)

Keywords

• Scientific balloon launches
• High-altitude research
• Payload recovery services
• Atmospheric science platforms
• Stratospheric balloon operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Palestine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Government Contract Operations: CSBF is a NASA facility managed by Peraton under contract administered by Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility. The facility provides balloon launch, tracking, and recovery services to NASA centers and universities, funded through government appropriations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CSBF plans, develops and operates facilities to launch large (400 ft diameter) unmanned, high-altitude (up to 120,000 ft / 42 km) scientific research balloons; tracks and recovers the scientific experiments suspended beneath them; and provides engineering support including balloon design, electronics, gondola and power system design. Services are delivered to NASA centers, universities, and foreign research groups from facilities in Palestine (Texas), Fort Sumner (New Mexico), Antarctica, and other remote sites.

Product overview

Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility provides a comprehensive portfolio of scientific balloon launching and support services for NASA and international research institutions. The core offerings include three ballooning modalities: Conventional Ballooning for short-duration missions (hours to days), Long Duration Ballooning (LDB) for continental circumnavigation missions (up to three weeks), and Ultra Long Duration Ballooning (ULDB) using advanced superpressure pumpkin balloon technology for flights up to 100 days. The facility operates standard NASA scientific balloons (400 ft diameter, zero-pressure polyethylene design) capable of carrying 8,000-pound payloads to 42 km altitude, as well as specialized ELBBO superpressure balloons. Beyond balloon launches, CSBF provides full engineering support services covering balloon design, material research, electronics, gondola systems, thermal analysis, power systems, instrumentation, and recovery operations. The facility conducts operations from its primary site in Palestine, Texas, as well as remote locations including Antarctica, Fort Sumner, and international sites.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Conventional Ballooning Services Balloon launch operations using direct line-of-sight electronics for command and data with flight durations ranging from a few hours to days. Served to NASA centers and universities requiring short-duration high-altitude research missions.
• Long Duration Ballooning (LDB) Balloon missions that traverse between continents or around the world for one circumnavigation, lasting up to three weeks using satellite-based electronic systems for command and data. Used for scientific research requiring extended observation times.
• Ultra Long Duration Ballooning (ULDB) Superpressure pumpkin balloon technology designed to achieve flight durations up to 100 days using advanced materials and sealed pressurized design with solar power systems.
• Standard NASA Scientific Balloons Zero-pressure balloons constructed of polyethylene film, 400 feet in diameter, capable of carrying payloads up to 8,000 pounds to altitudes of 42 kilometers and remaining airborne for up to two weeks.
• ELBBO Superpressure Balloons Extended Life Balloon Bourstering Operations superpressure balloons including the longest flight in CSBF history lasting over 4 months, launched for Professor Bob Holzworth of the University of Washington for atmospheric electrodynamics research.
• Balloon Operations Services Complete balloon operations services including inflation, launching, tracking and recovery of payloads, and telecommand and data retrieval with reliable electronics systems. Provided to NASA centers, universities, and international research organizations.
• Antarctica Long Duration Balloon Operations Scientific ballooning operations conducted from Antarctica as part of the U.S. Antarctic Program, with operations at LDB Camp near McMurdo Station during seasonal windows (December-January) for circumnavigating balloon flights.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,700+ balloons launched for research institutions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PeratoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeraton holds the contract to manage the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility on behalf of NASA. Peraton is responsible for facility operations, staff, and day-to-day ballooning activities under the oversight of NASA's Balloon Program Office.
• Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) / Wallops Flight FacilitycoreTechnology or IntegrationThe CSBF contract is administered by the Balloon Program Office at Wallops Flight Facility of Goddard Space Flight Center. GSFC provides oversight, program direction, and technical guidance for balloon operations.
• National Science Foundation (NSF) / U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSF runs the U.S. Antarctic Program and provides support for CSBF operations in Antarctica. The Antarctica Long Duration Balloon (LDB) campaigns operate from McMurdo Station under USAP logistics and infrastructure.
• University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 1982, sponsorship of the National Scientific Balloon Facility was transferred from NSF to NASA, and NSBF became a separate entity under UCAR before becoming CSBF.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• KAIROS Aerospace: Operates a fleet of stratospheric balloons for methane emissions detection and environmental monitoring. Adjacent to CSBF's mission in leveraging high-altitude balloons for science and environmental research but focused specifically on commercial remote sensing applications.
• World View Enterprises: Stratospheric balloon company developing high-altitude platforms for Earth observation, communications, and (historically) space tourism. Overlaps with CSBF in stratosphere-access technology but focuses on commercial rather than government science customers.
• Space Perspective: Commercial stratospheric balloon company focused on space tourism. Uses similar stratospheric balloon technology to CSBF but targets a completely different (consumer) customer segment, illustrating the broader commercial interest in balloon-based near-space platforms.
• Tendeg LLC: Designs and manufactures deployable structures and high-altitude balloon systems for NASA and commercial customers, including inflatable antenna and large balloon technologies directly applicable to scientific balloon missions.
• Near Space Corporation: Provides high-altitude balloon flight services for science, technology demonstration, and commercial payloads using both zero-pressure and superpressure balloons. Directly comparable flight service provider with overlapping customer base in university and government research.

Direct peers

• JAXA Balloon Experiment Team: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency operates a scientific balloon program conducting stratospheric research, including long-duration and ultra-long-duration balloon flights from Taiki Aerospace Research Center. Direct functional peer serving similar science communities in Asia-Pacific.
• Aerostar (Raven Aerostar / Aerostar International): Leading manufacturer of high-altitude scientific and stratospheric balloons based in Sulphur Springs, Texas. Listed as CSBF's primary balloon manufacturing partner and supplies NASA and other agencies with similar zero-pressure and superpressure balloon technology.
• Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) - ESRANGE Space Center: Operates the Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden, providing scientific balloon launch, tracking, and recovery services for European and international research institutions. CSBF and SSC have a documented partnership and ESRANGE is explicitly listed as a CSBF operational partner, making it the closest functional peer in scientific ballooning.
• ISRO Balloon Facility, Hyderabad: Indian Space Research Organisation's TIFR Balloon Facility in Hyderabad conducts scientific balloon launches for atmospheric and cosmic ray research. Directly comparable in mission and serves as CSBF's functional peer for Indian research institutions.
• CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales) Balloon Program: The French national space agency operates its own scientific balloon program (CNES Balloons) with launches from Aire-sur-l'Adour and Timmins, Canada. Directly comparable to CSBF in mission, customer base (university/government researchers), and balloon platform technology.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutu.be/sPQ-tMoAHkY
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/columbia-scientific-balloon-facility

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility