High-altitude balloon planning

SkyLaunch Balloon Planner

Plan latex weather balloon flights before lift-off — drift, burst altitude, and recovery in one colorful cockpit.

Colorful latex weather balloon ascending through twilight sky

Flight deck tools

Everything a hobby crew or university HAB team needs to model ascent, shear, and chase geometry before launch day.

Launch parameters

Pick a worldwide launch corridor, set burst altitude and ascent rate, and tune payload mass before you ever leave the field.

Path drift model

The Path tab charts horizontal drift and altitude arc with clickable markers at 10, 30, and 60 minutes — coordinates and flight phase at each point.

Wind shear layers

Dial surface wind speed and direction, then adjust shear factor to see how faster winds aloft can double your recovery distance.

Atmosphere stack

Atmos breaks down temperature and pressure by altitude so you can sanity-check ascent assumptions from ground level through burst.

Field guides

Six technical Learn articles cover burst calculators, payload sizing, chase logistics, and awareness for educational HAB launches.

Launch log

Save configurations with crew notes and reload them with one tap when conditions shift or you stage a second attempt.

Payload descending under parachute over farmland Weather balloon inflating on a grass airfield at dawn Chase vehicle on open prairie road under dramatic clouds

Inside the cockpit

Real screens from SkyLaunch — tap markers on Path, tune Wind layers, and read field notes before you chase.

SkyLaunch Launch tab with burst altitude and ascent controls Burst altitude Launch site picker
Launch tab — dial burst altitude, ascent rate, and payload before lift-off.
SkyLaunch Path tab showing horizontal drift chart Drift map 10 / 30 / 60 min
Path tab — horizontal drift and altitude arc with clickable time markers.
SkyLaunch Wind tab with shear layers and direction dial Wind dial Shear factor
Wind tab — surface-to-stratosphere layers with rotating direction dial.