“A group of amateur balloon enthusiasts in Illinois might have solved the mystery of one of the unknown flying objects shot down by the US military,” the Guardian reported on Friday, February 17, 2023 (read story here).
The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade “says one of its hobby craft went ‘missing in action’ over Alaska on 11 February,” the day a USAF F-22 whacked an unknown object floating over Yukon territory at 40,000 feet.
The missing balloon cost about 12 bucks, and its payload maybe $300, and had circled the planet 7 times before its demise.
Are these things legal? Apparently. Only larger balloons require FAA clearance. But the Guardian says “pico balloons have … a cruising altitude between 32,000 and 50,000ft, a similar range to commercial aircraft,” which should raise a red flag, even though these balloons are less than 3 feet in diameter.
The payload may include solar panels and an instrument package, and sucking that into a jet engine at altitude can’t be good for the engine. (For more information about pico balloons and what they’re used for, go here.)
But unless the balloon violated some law, there’s no basis to send the balloon brigade a bill for the $439,000 missile. At least we can take comfort from knowing NORAD’s radars can see them.