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Pretty cool, although it's polluting so hopefully it wouldn't become too popular (probably not). "And because such diminutive payloads don’t pose a danger to a
by pingou 8mo ago
Pretty cool, although it's polluting so hopefully it wouldn't become too popular (probably not).
"And because such diminutive payloads don’t pose a danger to aircraft" even though they are small and wouldn't make a plane crash, I can imagine they would cause some damage if they ever enter a jet engine, although that would be unlucky as they would mostly fly higher than aircraft. I also wouldn't like it to fall on my head, but with the solar panels as depicted and the small weight I suppose it could somewhat glide.
- voidUpdate 8mo agoIt also reminds me of the recent incident where an object (potentially a weather balloon) struck a plane windscreen and caused significant damage to it, as well as injuring one of the flight crew. I don't know if it would cause the same amount of damage given it's size, but hitting any solid object at cruising speed is sure to leave a mark
- squeefers 8mo agoshouldnt be cruising in the balloon lane then
- ankit_mishra 8mo agoBalloon doesn't teleport to the balloon lane though
- HNisCIS 8mo agoThat was a much larger balloon that had sand ballast. The sand was what did the damage
- NoiseBert69 8mo agoThere are thousands of weather balloon starts every day without any damages to airplanes. It's not factor as long they are not crossing a specific size/weight - jet engines and windows from airplanes are tested to withstand a direct impact.
- m4rtink 8mo agoYeah, and pico baloons are extremely tiny, often at 10 grams or less, comprising some very thin plastic, some thin wire and tiny PCBs - this is also how they can fly so high for so long. Lost of types of hail will be much heavier and harder on impact for example.