  The Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon II
(EUSO-SPB2) launched from Wanaka, New Zealand on May 13th 2023. Consisting of
two optical telescopes, EUSO-SPB2 aimed to search for very high energy
neutrinos (E>PeV) via Cherenkov radiation, and ultra high energy cosmic rays
(UHECRs, E>EeV) via ultraviolet fluorescence. Building on the EUSO-Balloon
(2014) and EUSO-SPB1 (2017) missions, the Fluorescence Telescope (FT) comprises
108 multi-anode photomultiplier tubes at the focus of a one meter entrance
diameter Schmidt telescope. The FT pointed down at the atmosphere below the
SPB's altitude of 33 km. The mission duration was planned to reach up to 100
days. Prior to flight, the instrument was extensively tested in the laboratory
and in the field. These measurements, combined with simulations led to an
expected peak energy sensitivity around 3 EeV. Combined with a
three-times-larger field-of-view than previous EUSO balloon missions, this
resulted in an expected observation rate of one UHECR shower per ten hours of
observation. The FT was expected to perform the first measurement of UHECRs via
fluorescence from sub-orbital space, but was unable to, due to a shortened
flight. Nonetheless, these observations of EUSO-SPB2 serve as a stepping stone
to future satellite-based missions, such as the Probe of Extreme MultiMessenger
Astrophysics (POEMMA), with enormous exposure to the highest energy cosmic rays
with all sky coverage. In this contribution we will discuss the performance of
the FT in flight as well as preliminary results.

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics;High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena