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Weather balloons are tiny, enough so they need to attach a specific device to reflect radar signals properly and these massive payloads are not innocent climate

Weather balloons are tiny, enough so they need to attach a specific device to reflect radar signals properly and these massive payloads are not innocent climate collection devices

rgbrenner 4y ago
That's speculation on your part. The DoD has not released any information on what the payload of any of these balloons contains. And going by the size isn't conclusive. The ICESat-2 weather satellite is over 3000lbs, for example. So instruments larger than found on a typical weather balloon clearly do have their place in weather/climate science.
- BobbyJo 4y ago
  > That's speculation on your part. The DoD has not released any information on what the payload of any of these balloons contains. Not true: https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-balloon-carried-antennas-other-equipment-to-gather-intelligence-u-s-says-11675953033 https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-balloon-carried-antenna...
  - rgbrenner 4y ago
    Thank you. I missed this somehow.
    - throwawaymaths 4y ago
      Not that it's necessarily indictatory, but this balloon had a payload the size of a small jet. By my understanding (I could be wrong) that's very uncommon for a weather balloon.
  - toomuchtodo 4y ago
    https://archive.is/oORem https://archive.is/oORem
benatkin 4y ago
Maybe in the near future you won't be able to attach a full tube of toothpaste to a weather balloon and send it high up into the air, just a 3 oz size.
chipsa 4y ago
Weather balloons are tiny, yes, but they aren't tracked by radar anymore. Generally, it's a set of meteorological instruments and a GPS to track the location. It's a bit easier to get that to work, as you no longer need to make sure your radar works, but rather, just that the GPS is working before you let go. That said, payload is substantially smaller than these things (<1 kg for current tech).
- KennyBlanken 4y ago
  Wrong. https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/atc_html/chap9_section_6.html https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/atc_html...
- mcqueenjordan 4y ago
  I assume this would be slightly more clear as "aren't tracked by radar anymore [by their controllers]" -- who does what tracking and how, of course, wildly varies. (Not trying to be overly pedantic, just saying out loud my internal thought reply.)

Weather balloons are tiny, enough so they need to attach a specific device to reflect radar signals properly and these massive payloads are not innocent climate collection devices

rgbrenner 4y ago

That's speculation on your part. The DoD has not released any information on what the payload of any of these balloons contains. And going by the size isn't conclusive. The ICESat-2 weather satellite is over 3000lbs, for example. So instruments larger than found on a typical weather balloon clearly do have their place in weather/climate science.

BobbyJo 4y ago
> That's speculation on your part. The DoD has not released any information on what the payload of any of these balloons contains. Not true: https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-balloon-carried-antennas-other-equipment-to-gather-intelligence-u-s-says-11675953033 https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-balloon-carried-antenna...
- rgbrenner 4y ago
  Thank you. I missed this somehow.
  - throwawaymaths 4y ago
    Not that it's necessarily indictatory, but this balloon had a payload the size of a small jet. By my understanding (I could be wrong) that's very uncommon for a weather balloon.
- toomuchtodo 4y ago
  https://archive.is/oORem https://archive.is/oORem

benatkin 4y ago

Maybe in the near future you won't be able to attach a full tube of toothpaste to a weather balloon and send it high up into the air, just a 3 oz size.

chipsa 4y ago

Weather balloons are tiny, yes, but they aren't tracked by radar anymore. Generally, it's a set of meteorological instruments and a GPS to track the location. It's a bit easier to get that to work, as you no longer need to make sure your radar works, but rather, just that the GPS is working before you let go. That said, payload is substantially smaller than these things (<1 kg for current tech).

KennyBlanken 4y ago
Wrong. https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/atc_html/chap9_section_6.html https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/atc_html...
mcqueenjordan 4y ago
I assume this would be slightly more clear as "aren't tracked by radar anymore [by their controllers]" -- who does what tracking and how, of course, wildly varies. (Not trying to be overly pedantic, just saying out loud my internal thought reply.)