(DailyDig.com) – On February 14th, 2023, a member of the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB) reported one of their pico balloons as lost.
In a speech on Thursday, Biden speculated that three unidentified objects shot down by military jet fighters were balloons that belonged to privately owned companies, recreational institutions, or possibly research facilities studying the weather or some other type of scientific research.
Virtually no news outlet bothered to mention that Biden had ordered the military to shoot down what are now thought to be private company balloons used for fun or research.
The lost balloon was last seen on February 11 by the NIBBB group near Hagemeister Island in Alaska.
The creator of Scientific Balloon Solutions (a manufacturer of pico balloons for use by researchers, teachers, and hobbyists) claims he reached out to the government to explain what most of these objects are. From his perspective, it seems like he was just given the runaround. He said that if they shot them down, they would look foolish.
Pico ballooning is a relatively inexpensive hobby that combines high-altitude ballooning with ham radio. Ham Radio, or Amateur Radio, uses Pico Balloons for their communications with other Ham Radios all over the world. The FCC licenses these balloons, which are flown at altitudes of around 47,000 feet. The hydrogen balloon carries a small transmitter equipped with GPS tracking and an antenna for broadcasting data. When used properly, a GPS system can determine where they are and a wealth of other data.
According to reports, the altitudes, shapes of the objects, and payloads of the balloons match those of the three unidentified objects shot down between February 10 and 12. These party balloons are usually made of Mylar or foil.
The community of pico balloonists is fearful that their balloon will be the next target of a shooting by the military. Tom Medlin, host of the “Amateur Radio Roundtable” show, expressed his desire that the military would not “start shooting down everything” in the coming days.
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