launch.jpg

A 100-foot "bubble" rises over Lynn Lake, Canada, and soon over the BESS instrument itself, still suspended by a crane to avoid dragging along the ground as the balloon passes over.  Most of the balloon remains unexpanded at liftoff, forming the seemingly white transparent trailing that leads to the payload.  In its 23-mile climb to above 99.5% of the atmosphere, the NASA balloon that carries the BESS antiparticle/antimatter experiment will expand to a space larger than a football field.

photo credit:  The BESS collaboration