SYDNEY (Reuters) -- U.S. space agency NASA suffered a deflating disappointment on Sunday when a massive balloon it hoped would measure cosmic radiation came back to earth only hours after its launch in the Australian Outback.
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The balloon developed a leak not long after launch and fell slowly back to earth near its launch site in Alice Springs in central Australia's remote and inhospitable outback, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio said.
"It's not yet known what caused the leak," ABC radio said.
The mishap came after five weeks of frustrating delays caused by bad weather.
The pumpkin-shaped Ultra Long Duration Balloon is designed to inflate gradually to the size of a football field as it approaches the edge of Earth's atmosphere.
The helium balloon and its million-dollar payload of measuring equipment were meant to float around the globe for two weeks, transmitting information back to NASA scientists about cosmic radiation.
"If successful, similar balloons could replace expensive satellite technology for future science experiments," NASA spokesman Louis Barber told ABC radio.
The balloon, many times larger than others of its type, is designed to float 22 miles (35 kilometers) above the Earth's surface on its westerly circumnavigation, tracking roughly along the Tropic of Capricorn.
It has a fully inflated diameter of 420 feet (128 meters) and is 259 feet (79 meters) high.
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