# NASA Tests Spaceflight Technology in New Mexico

NASA’s Balloon Optimization Opportunity Payload (BOOP!) flight launched from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, on September 13, 2026, and reached approximately 123,000 feet. The flight demonstrated a shared high-altitude platform for testing planetary-exploration tools, radiation-mapping technologies, and a flight camera system. No solicitation, contract value, award, or procurement contact was identified, so this is a technology-demonstration signal rather than an active contract opportunity.

- Aerospace instrumentation and flight-testing contractors may find the shared-payload approach relevant to capabilities for future NASA balloon missions.
- Companies interested in payload opportunities can monitor NASA’s Balloon Program Office, as suggested in the source signal.
- The source separately references a Mullenax test flight on September 28, 2026; that date should not be conflated with the BOOP! flight.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Published:** September 30, 2026

### Government Entities
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- NASA Balloon Program Office

### Sources
- [NASA Sends A New Balloon Mission Above Earth To Test Technology For Future Space Exploration](https://dailygalaxy.com/2026/09/nasa-sends-new-balloon-mission-above-earth) - The Daily Galaxy