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Weather Balloons & Wireless

Posted by Hemos on from the what-a-wonderful-world dept.

mansa writes "Over at CNN they have an article about a company that wants to expand wireless coverge with weather balloons! I hope it's not just a bunch of hot air! "

3 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. Possible MIB2 Scene... by $carab · · Score: 5, Funny

    But Space Data says its plan to create America's first floating wireless network -- by putting disposable transmitters on government weather balloons.

    Hick Farmer: "I just saw an UFO! It went over yonder trees!"
    [Bright Flash]
    Agent K: That was not a UFO you saw...it was a Government Weather Balloon designed to provide you with low cost, speedy, nationwide wireless access.

  2. Debris by scoove · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Every time I read one of these pie in the sky (or balloon in this case) stories, I can't believe the reporter didn't ask what I'd think would be the basic question: What is all this junk going to end up?

    We've had environmentalist complaints about PCs and all the toxic components they possess. Now some not-yet-defunct VC is pushing disposal cell sites and nobody's curious? What about when a 747 sucks one of these floating cell sites into an engine? And they complain about use of personal electronics on the plane...

    Heck, in high school we were told we couldn't launch balloon projects anymore (you know, where you'd put a note on it and ask the finder to call you and let you know where it ended up at) because the environmentalists said some sea critters mistook the deflated balloons for fish, ate them and choked to death.

    So where's the uproar from the ELF/ALF folks?

    *scoove*

  3. Well I hate to burst your balloon but... by slewazimuth · · Score: 5, Informative
    "The balloons typically hover at about 100,000 feet for about 24 hours."

    Actually not quite...

    The balloon flights actually only last about two hours and then the balloons break. In fact the balloon flights in question are done world wide at 0000 and 1200 UCT (Used to be GMT). They record temperature, humidty, air pressure and by triangulating from the ground tracking antenna you can calculate upper level winds.

    I'm actually being generous with the length of flight. The time of year has a lot to do with the length of flight. The calculated height of the flight is related very much to the air pressure and for a flight to be valid it generally must be below 100 millibars. (The higher the balloon the lower the millibar reading). A flight reaching 3 millibars is around 120,000 ft. Summer flights usually have balloon bursts below 15 millibars. In winter early bursts, above 100 millibars, can require a second release, provided it happens within a given time window. The weather instrument package is called a radiosonde. Two types of upper air balloon a generally used for launching off the surface. For calmer winds a soft cheap latex balloon called a Kaysam is used and for adverse wind conditions or launch from a ship at sea a severe weather balloon called a Totex is used. (Totex is more rugged and more expensive)

    They say they plan to hitch a ride on the existing balloons. The short duration is going to be a problem. The balloons expand as they rise and then go BOOM

    I worked as an Aerological Observer for Environment Canada at a variety of Arctic Weather stations for about six years sending these suckers up there! There are long duration high altitude balloons out there, but the upper air program the article refers to doesn't use them, and the balloon shown in the photograph is of the variety to quickly put a few "holes" in the flight duration claim!

    Watch the investor's money go BOOM!