According to balloon programme chief Debbie Fairbrother, pre-flight checks at the weekend had the balloon’s predicted path heading above population centres along the east coast of the South Island.
"Public safety risk is important to Nasa, so we were in a no-go situation due to flight safety," she said.
While the launch posed a relatively low risk to the public, Nasa’s inability to control the balloon once it was airborne meant they had to exercise caution when calculating its trajectory.
As the weekend’s good weather was not expected to continue into the week, Ms Fairbrother downplayed expectations for any potential launch.
"Once things clear up, hopefully towards the end of the week, we will have our next opportunities to launch."
If successful, the balloon will mark Nasa’s final planned launch from Wānaka Airport for 2023.
A balloon was successfully launched from the airport on April 23.
