And the one thing it does not want is a repeat of Alice Springs, April 28, 2010.
It is that launch that has led to a raft of safety rules around Sunday morning in Wanaka.
Cars will not be able to use State Highway 6 past the airport for between 30 and 40 minutes, and residents within a 2.1km radius and workers at the airport will have to stay indoors.
Operations manager for Nasa's Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility Dwayne Orr told the Otago Daily Times last week of the mishap at Alice Springs and the tightening up of launch procedures that resulted.
While the inflated polyethylene balloon, its metal and plastic gondola and payload of ballast material would be lighter than air, it would still weigh a chunky 4.5 tonnes.
That, said Mr Orr, meant anyone inside the 2.1km safety zone must be under cover during the 30-minute launch.
Media reports from Alice Springs five years ago said a balloon similar to the Wanaka one was being launched, carrying a Nuclear Compton Telescope designed to detect gamma rays.
During the launch, the telescope and the gondola carrying it unexpectedly came loose from the balloon, crashing through a fence and overturning a parked utility vehicle.
The telescope was dragged 137m before coming to a stop.
No-one was injured, although Alice Springs couple Stan and Betty Davies, sitting in a car nearby, told the ABC they came within ''a foot of being wiped out''.
The crash destroyed a $2 million astronomy experiment years in the making.
Nasa's Mishap Investigation Board later determined weather conditions were acceptable for launch, and there were no technical problems with the vehicle or the payload.
However, it identified insufficient ''risk analysis, contingency planning, personnel training, technical knowledge, government oversight and public safety accommodations''.
Board member Michael Weiss said they found ''surprisingly few documented procedures for balloon launches''.
''No-one considered the launch phase to be a potential hazard,'' he said.
Mr Orr pointed out the Nasa team now included staff and procedures to deal specifically with the 44 safety recommendations made by the board.
Before that, said balloon programme office chief Debora Fairbrother, Nasa did not have a safety officer, road blocks and all its communications with people in the launch vicinity.
''We've not only addressed the safety aspects but we have also addressed the mechanical aspects of that failed release mechanism.''
And since then, there had been between five and 10 launches per year without mishap.
Sunday's launch is a test that could lead to Wanaka Airport becoming a regular launch venue, and while Mr Orr said Nasa was keen to keep disruption to a minimum, safety would be a priority.
He expected some motorists held up by the balloon launch would be happy to stop and ''watch the show'' at the fire brigade road blocks.
Others had the option of a detour via Hawea Flat.
His advice: ''If you start seeing the balloon bubble go up, put yourself under shelter and enjoy the show.''
