Current Outlook for Scientific Research with Super Pressure Balloons

The NASA Balloon Program has supported numerous science missions since the July 2009 31st ICRC in Lodz, Poland. Launches were conducted from sites in Antarctica, Australia, Sweden, and domestic U.S. sites. In addition, NASA has continued development and qualification flights leading to heavy lift super pressure bal- loons capable of supporting 1000 kg science instruments to 33 km for upwards of hundred day missions, with plans for increasing the altitude to 38 km. This goal for more than a decade is even more important now, in view of the National Research Council Astro2010 Decadal Study recommendation that NASA should support ultra-long duration ballooning development. Astro2010 emphasized that NASA should support such missions for indirect detection of dark matter and for cosmic-ray physics and astrophysics. An overview of recent results from Antarc- tic balloon flights, status of super pressure balloon development, and plans for science flights on super pressure balloons will be presented.