World View test balloon brought down in Rincon Mountains east of Tucson | Local news

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The stratospheric balloon company World View Enterprises has its headquarters and the Spaceport Tucson launch pad south of Tucson International Airport.

Mamta Popat / Arizona Daily Star //

An altitude balloon test vehicle flown by World View Enterprises from Tucson had crashed in a controlled crash such as in the Rincon Mountains east of the city, the company said.

No injuries were reported.

The unmanned flight took off on a pre-approved route from the company’s headquarters and the launch pad south of Tucson International Airport and crashed around 10:30 a.m. according to flight data confirmed by the company.

World View has been flying unmanned stratospheric balloon missions from its Tucson location and other locations for research and commercial customers since 2014, and logs more than 100 missions.

The company announced on Monday that it would offer tourist flights worth $ 50,000 on board special manned capsules starting in 2024.

Tucson-based World View Enterprises plans to fly tourists into the stratosphere in balloon vehicles by 2024. Video courtesy of World View.

In a prepared statement, World View CEO and President Ryan Hartman said the company took off on the flight Wednesday to test a new component used only in the remote sensing system and not part of the recently announced space tourism business.

Hartman said the flight ended earlier than planned and the balloon was lowered “as standard practice” using a parafoil, a type of steerable parachute.

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