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I am no expert on the upper atmosphere but I think the wind speeds at those altitudes vastly outstrip the ability of anything with batteries and electric motors

I am no expert on the upper atmosphere but I think the wind speeds at those altitudes vastly outstrip the ability of anything with batteries and electric motors to adjust its course. The only way to change directions is to rise or fall into a differently moving stream of air current. This is how the Google project loon things were supposed to navigate?

sudosysgen 4y ago
Presumably both balloons are affected by the same air currents, right? So as long as you lift it up from the right spot it should be able to get within a few kilometers of the target, no?
- TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
  Doubtful. It's more like trying to steer a ship. There are currents, but also a lot of noise/turbulence.
  - sudosysgen 4y ago
    That's true, but it only needs to get within a few kilometers.
Sai_ 4y ago
Didn’t some guy freefall from something like 100k ft or something to a specific landing zone. Remember seeing a red bull video of the event. How did he manage to avoid high altitude winds blowing him off course? Think the name was Baumgartner or something like it.
deleted 4y ago
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