# Weather (and other) balloons

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weather-and-other-balloons/518645>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 23, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weather-and-other-balloons/518645 "2009-11-23T15:35:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kellycheek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e4f/32.png) [@kellycheek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellycheek)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weather-and-other-balloons/518645/1 "2009-11-23T15:35:44Z")

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I’ve been reading some of the past columns and found a few references to weather balloons, and I got to thinking about their limits. How high can a balloon go into the atmosphere? Presumably, if the balloon itself can hold up under the conditions, it would eventually hit a “ceiling.” Has there ever been any determination as to how high that ceiling is? What happens to balloons in the process of getting there (and after they get there), and what kind of preparation is necessary for them to make it?

Curious in Colorado.

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**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weather-and-other-balloons/518645/2 "2009-11-23T15:49:16Z")

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I believe the current record is 113,000 ft. A recent attempt was made for 120,000 but a launch problem prevented the ascent.

Experts will be along shortly with the “whys”; densities and all that.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weather-and-other-balloons/518645/3 "2009-11-23T15:50:54Z")

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170,00 feet is about the record:  
[http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/ValerieChang.shtml](http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/ValerieChang.shtml)  
[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,804911,00.html](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,804911,00.html)

140,000 feet for a manned flight:  
[http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1997/CassandraEng.shtml](http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1997/CassandraEng.shtml)

[Balloon telescopes](http://popsci.typepad.com/popsci/2007/10/up-up-and-away.html) run at around 120,000 feet.  
The photo in the above link shows the telescope balloon fully infated on the ground, ready for flight. By the time it reaches 120,000 feet the gas inside the balloon will have expanded to make the craft nearly spherical.

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**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weather-and-other-balloons/518645/4 "2009-11-23T15:51:13Z")

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a weather balloon is designed to burst depends on how much gas in it and its thickness. they can go to 40 km.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weather-and-other-balloons/518645/5 "2009-11-23T15:52:59Z")

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This question should have come up 25 years ago, when I was working with [rawinsonde](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiosonde) data.