The Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility (CSBF) (established in 1961, formerly known as the National Scientific Balloon Facility (NSBF)) is a NASA facility responsible for providing launch, tracking and control, airspace coordination, telemetry and command systems, and recovery services for unmanned high-altitude balloons. Customers of the CSBF include NASA centers, universities, and scientific groups from all over the world. Mission CSBF has a threefold mission: Provide maintenance, operations and logistics support for NASA's scientific balloon program and facilities. Provide sophisticated ground and flight systems for launch, control, data retrieval, commanding, and recovery of NASA's balloon missions. Perform research and development to advance the capabilities of NASA's suborbital programs. History The Balloon Facility was established by Vincent E. Lally at NCAR in Boulder, Colorado in 1961 under the auspices of the National Science Foundation. It was moved to Palestine, Texas in 1963 and designated as the National Scientific Balloon Facility (NSBF) in January 1973. In 1982, sponsorship of the NSBF was transferred from the National Science Foundation to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the NSBF became a separate entity under the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). From October 1987 to January 2015, the CSBF was operated by the Physical Science Laboratory under the auspices of New Mexico State University located in Las Cruces, New Mexico. In February 2015, operation of the facility was transferred to the Technical Services Division of Orbital ATK. It is administered by Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility Balloon Program Office. Its Texas location put the NSBF in the middle of the area where the debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia dropped to Earth on February 1, 2003. In February 2006, the NSBF was renamed the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in honor of the Crew of STS-107. CSBF Ballooning Balloon CSBF conventional and long duration (LDB) balloons are made of 20 micrometer thick polyethylene film, and at float have a diameter of up to and a volume of up to . The balloons are filled with helium gas, can carry payloads up to , fly at altitudes of up to , and can remain at float in excess of 40 days. The balloons are zero pressure difference balloons, and are vented at the bottom. They are only partially inflated when launched, and as they rise up, the lower atmospheric pressure causes them to fully inflate. The bottom of the balloon is attached to