http://amsat-uk.org/2014/10/04/silverstone-b-64-balloon-still-flying/
Posted on 10/23/2014 5:54:34 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine
Here’s a post from the AMSAT-UK high altitude balloon blog. It’s a great story about a balloon cruising at about 12km above the Earth completing its sixth circumnavigation of the planet. That post is from October 4th, and two weeks later the balloon is still going strong. Right now it’s over the Baltic heading into Russia with no sign of stopping or popping any time soon.
The balloon was launched July 12, 2014 from Silverstone, UK. In the 100 days since then, this balloon has covered 144168 kilometers and has crossed its launching longitude six times. Even if this balloon weren’t trapped at high latitudes (including coming within 9 km of the pole), this balloon has still travelled more than three times the equatorial circumference of the Earth.
The balloon was built by [Leo Bodnar] a.k.a. [M0XER] with a self-made plastic foil envelope. The solar-powered payload weighs only 11 grams. It’s an exceptional accomplishment and one that has smashed all the amateur high altitude balloon distance records we can find.
Since the time it was written four days ago it has traveled from the Baltic across Asia and is now over Japan only 55 miles NW of Kyoto heading east.
You can follow it here at.
http://www.findu.com/cgi-bin/track.cgi?call=M0XER-4
The website of this balloon’s maker.
http://www.leobodnar.com/balloons/
Another news story about it from the ARRL.
http://www.arrl.org/news/balloons-carrying-amateur-radio-payloads-still-circling-earth
And another from AMSAT UK.
http://amsat-uk.org/2014/10/04/silverstone-b-64-balloon-still-flying/
Web page with more details about the balloon.
http://leobodnar.com/balloons/B-64/index.html
You can also track it here.
http://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FM0XER-4&timerange=3600&tail=3600
Another tracking website.
http://habitat.habhub.org/mobile-tracker/?focus=B-64
News article about it when it completed its first journey around the world in 19 days.
http://amsat-uk.org/2014/07/31/434-mhz-balloon-b-64-completes-epic-journey/
When it first started out it was flying at about the 125,000 ft. level. Now it cruises along at around 40,000 ft.
Another tracking page.
http://aprs.fi/info/a/M0XER-4
Due to global warming, no doubt...
No, I think it is Bush’s fault.
When it first started out it was flying at about the 125,000 ft. level. Now it cruises along at around 40,000 ft.
...
What happens when a plane hits it?
An airliner hitting an 11 gram payload?
Kinda like a mosquito hitting a car that is traveling at 60 mph.
This has ballooned out of all proportion.
So the 11 gram payload is floating around up there all by itself?
Are you expecting something else beside it and the polyethylene balloon it is attached to?
That's about 86500 miles. Seems like maybe enough mileage for 3 times. Anyone have better math than me? Mine usually sucks.
more than three time
It’s traveled around the Northern Hemisphere six times. That’s a little different than traveling around the equator.
And it has been right over the North Pole one time.
The article says the balloon is made of plastic foil.
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