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OLNEY, Ill. · Oct. 4, 2026Aerostratospheric, an Illinois nonprofit corporation, has published the full Flown archive record for the September 19, 2026 maiden science flight of X2Griffon, its flagship high-altitude profiler, launched from Casey, Illinois. The flight reached a burst altitude of 90,356 feet.
X2Griffon lifted at 1:17 PM CDT (1817Z) as an unmanned free balloon under FAA Part 101. It reached burst at 2:48 PM CDT (1948Z) after a 91-minute ascent averaging 16.4 feet per second. It then descended for 66 minutes and landed at 3:54 PM CDT (2054Z) in woods in Vigo County, Indiana. The flight lasted 157 minutes, and the payload landed 29.6 miles from Casey on a heading of 093 degrees. The archive lists the mission status as landed.
The archive also records problems from the flight. X2Griffon suffered cold-weather failures in several battery systems. The xFall2 failsafe pack survived and reported the landing. The last science fix was stale.
The flight operated under NOTAM STL 09/348, which is quoted in full on the Flights page. Its burst altitude was 90,356 feet.
The archive entry also records launch-day conditions. At the pad it was 88°F with 52% humidity and few clouds, and the wind was from the south-southwest at 8 knots, gusting to 10. The standard-atmosphere estimate at burst altitude is about −49°C and 17 hPa.
Aerostratospheric launches are private science operations, and flight results are shared publicly for awareness and education. The organization publishes open atmospheric observations through UOGW (Unified Open Global Weather) and xDataHub, its public live science dashboard. It welcomes collaboration with researchers, educators and media on X2Griffon, xFall2 and open data.
Flown and data links:
https://www.midwestsds.com/flights.html
https://www.midwestsds.com/msds-data-hub.html
https://www.midwestsds.com/press.html
Related / More info (knowledge base):
Private science missions vs public awareness (flights framing): https://midwestsds.com/contact/knowledgebase.php?article=94
About Aerostratospheric
Aerostratospheric is an Illinois nonprofit corporation. The organization designs, builds, and flies lightweight high-altitude payload science platforms under FAA Part 101 and publishes open atmospheric observations through UOGW (Unified Open Global Weather) for research, education, and public reuse. Midwest Stratospheric Data Systems operates as a limited partnership under Aerostratospheric. Corporate office: 801 S West St, Suite 101, Olney, IL 62450. Launch operations: Casey, Illinois. Web: https://www.aerostratospheric.com/ and https://www.midwestsds.com/
Media contact:
Elena Vargas, Press and Communications
Aerostratospheric
space@aerostratospheric.com
Olney, Illinois
https://www.midwestsds.com/press.html
Collaboration scheduling: https://calendly.com/aerostratospheric/15min
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