UFOs and Aliens
Just How Many Weather Balloons are There?
Have you ever wondered how many weather balloons get launched daily? Do you suppose we track them? Either they’re sending telemetry, or they need to be recovered, right? As a person who has crewed for hot air balloons, I know about recovery. I crewed for ‘Illusions,’ a balloon based in San Antonio, for one based in Tempe that was shaped like a basketball going into the rim of the basket, honoring the Phoenix Suns, and made friends in Albuquerque crewing for a random balloon and the nice group of people who adopted me. (Seriously, most people flying balloons are nice people.) I was such an awkward teen, I am amazed anyone kept me around.
If the above is the average weather balloon, I’d be okay recovering that. Did you know many states have balloon release laws? Even birthday balloons can have an impact on wild life. Everything ends up in the ocean. Sea Turtles see bits of fluff like plastic bags and balloons and eat them thinking, oh a jelly.
But even if they were biodegradable balloons, I would imagine you’d want to at least get your instruments back. I suspect these guys transmit data, given how cheap transmitters are and how easy it is to send telemetry. If they’re recording only, I would imagine they would have a transponder. Why make recording if you can’t recover the data? I wonder if the equipment has a note saying, if found, please call. Finder fee included?
