My immediate concern with this is, if the USAF decides to **NOT** shoot down these hobbyist-type balloons (which only cost a hundred or two hundred bucks each), does that mean the spy agencies start using these type of balloons to do their spy work under the disguise of being ‘hobbyists’?
>The club’s silver-coated, party-style, “pico balloon” reported its last position on Feb. 10 at 38,910 ft.
>
>At any given moment, several dozen such balloons are aloft, with some circling the globe several times before they malfunction or fail for other reasons. The launch teams seldom recover their balloons.
Why is this hobby even legal? They serve utterly zero purpose and just end up as trash somewhere even if we make the assumption that they pose no threat to civil aviation, which I do not think we can make
> the pico balloons weigh less than 6 lb. and therefore are exempt from most FAA airspace restrictions
That’s what I was looking for. I’m surprised any objects are allowed to be launched and float around at altitudes commercial air traffic uses. I know the sky is big and the odds of hitting one are rather low but still seems like an unnecessary risk.
Big_Signature_1818 says
This is the most “oniony” article I have ever seen on here. Bravo.
NiteTiger says
Ouch, bad week to be a balloonist.
shastadakota says
Wait until they get the bill for the missile.
Birdy_Cephon_Altera says
My immediate concern with this is, if the USAF decides to **NOT** shoot down these hobbyist-type balloons (which only cost a hundred or two hundred bucks each), does that mean the spy agencies start using these type of balloons to do their spy work under the disguise of being ‘hobbyists’?
HolyGig says
>The club’s silver-coated, party-style, “pico balloon” reported its last position on Feb. 10 at 38,910 ft.
>
>At any given moment, several dozen such balloons are aloft, with some circling the globe several times before they malfunction or fail for other reasons. The launch teams seldom recover their balloons.
Why is this hobby even legal? They serve utterly zero purpose and just end up as trash somewhere even if we make the assumption that they pose no threat to civil aviation, which I do not think we can make
diiejso says
> the pico balloons weigh less than 6 lb. and therefore are exempt from most FAA airspace restrictions
That’s what I was looking for. I’m surprised any objects are allowed to be launched and float around at altitudes commercial air traffic uses. I know the sky is big and the odds of hitting one are rather low but still seems like an unnecessary risk.