Latter-day Magellan. One of Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade’s hobby balloons vanished after circling the globe three times. Was it what the U.S. and Canada air defense forces scrambled to shoot down in February? Possibly.
Think of these as slightly oversize mylar party balloons
WINNETKA, Ill. – Those mysterious high-flying objects sighted over North America in February – and shot down by warplanes firing heat-seeking missiles – may not have been alien space craft. Nor Chinese spy balloons. A hobbyist club, the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade, said at least one of its small balloons went missing after circumnavigating the globe three times. It was one of several so-called pico balloons that the club has floated over the years. At three feet across when launched, they’re like a slightly oversize party balloon albeit for tracking device on a long tether for ham radio operators to follow their progress. The balloon expand in thinner air at high altitudes. The Northern Illinois club is among several into the hobby globally. The objects over U.S. airspace in February included one that drifted over Minnesota and Wisconsin. They are manufactured Scientific Balloon Solutions, a Silicon Valley company that sells to hobbyists, educators and scientists. They retail for $18 without the tracking beacon, which ham radio enthusiasts rig up. Ron Meadows, the company president, said he tried to contact the Pentagon and FBI that the balloons possibly were his company’s product. “I just got the runaround,” he said. The balloons, made of latex, are neutrally buoyant at 43,000 feet — higher than commercial aircraft fly. Floating at 60,000 feet is not uncommon.
Pico balloon. At launch. A ham radio hobbyist’s delight.
Tethered beacon. Transmits signals for ham radio enthusiasts to track worldwide and marvel at what they’ve done.