NIGHTGLOW prepared for a launch from Alice Springs, Australia on an ultra-long duration (ULD) "pumpkin" balloon, waiting for the instrument, balloon, and weather conditions to be right. The science team arrived in Alice Springs in late December 2002 and early January 2003. The balloon arrived on January 11. The science team assembled and tested the NIGHTGLOW instrument and readied it for the balloon launch.

NIGHTGLOW finally launched from Alice Springs, Australia on March 17, 2003 at 8:38 a.m. local time (March 16 at 6:08 p.m. EST). Unfortunately, the flight was terminated on March 17, 2003 at 8:07 p.m. local time (March 17 at 5:37 a.m. EST) due to pressure loss in the balloon.

Above are aerial photos of the landing site. The leftmost two photos are of the payload (NIGHTGLOW) in a small lake in the middle of the Outback. You can see its parachute lying at the edge of the lake. The photo on the right is of the ULD balloon on dry land near the lake.