Google Balloons

[JFB]

I have heard, but never gave it any thought. Google is launching balloons to act as cell towers drifting around.
Just noticed them on Flightradar24 as they go over NC

 

[Jeepnik]

Eventually one will get sucked into the engine of a passenger jet. Of course the brainiacs that came up with this idea wouldn't care anyway.

 

[blume357]

Got me curious and I did a little research.... they are floating at 50,000 ft which is a good bit above commercial flights... (I did take a flight once where we went to 42,000ft to get over a thunder storm.) The interesting thing that I can't figure out is the dern things can go up and down to find the right air current and move around. I'm curious as to how they do that. The balloon only last a few months and so I wonder about retrieving the electronics on it.

 

[gramps]

What good are they? If they are moving how can you use them for location? At 50,000 feet they might impede military flights?
gramps

 

[Fox Mike]

Just looked at four different ones and 217,219, 227 were all at 59,000 feet and 220 is at 63,000 feet. I would imagine that they are highly visible at that altitude.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Just looked at four different ones and 217,219, 227 were all at 59,000 feet and 220 is at 63,000 feet. I would imagine that they are highly visible at that altitude.

At 59,000 feet they aren't going to impede anything and there are very few flights up there to see them. They do sound like a great idea to aid communication. I wonder how cost effective they are? I wonder if they can be used when nature takes down towers in a certain areas, like after storms etc. ?

 

[Kevin]

Eventually one will get sucked into the engine of a passenger jet. Of course the brainiacs that came up with this idea wouldn't care anyway.

That’s pretty mean to say about people you don’t know.

 

[Montelores]

Eventually one will get sucked into the engine of a passenger jet. Of course the brainiacs that came up with this idea wouldn't care anyway.

Drones being operated illegally by civilians near airports and at lower altitudes are a much larger threat to civilian air traffic.

Monty

 

[Tensaw]

Reminds me of a retired air force pilot told me long ago. A pilot and his wing man were flying somewhere in Southeast Asia and headed into bad weather. One asked the other, "I wonder how high the ceiling was over the storm". An unidentified voice over the radio says, "59,000 feet". Pilot asks, "how do you know?" The response was, "I just flew over it." No other transmissions were made. Had to be a SR-71.

 

[Fox Mike]

I see that 217, 219, and 227 are now over Kentucky. They are still 60,000 ft or above and moving west.

 

[JFB]

the paths looks like an attempt to go over airports

 

[Kevin]

Since they are balloons, is Google able to control their movement in anyway? I've never been in a hot air balloon.

If they go out into the Pacific or Atlantic, it won't do much good for wifi. Not too many people out there.

 

[Fox Mike]

There most be some control somehow. They aren't changing altitude very much. Normally the higher a balloon rises the larger it gets and just keeps climbing. Not only that but three of them are staying together even though they are traveling laterally.

 

[JFB]

here is the site for the balloon project.
https://loon.com/

the night I first "discovered" them, I found several youtubes, not sure the good ones I saw are on that sight.
to me the good ones showed a lot of failures in their designing and testing them. One popped while they were discussion how they fixed that problem.

besides changing air ballast for elevation, they control spin so that also steers them somewhat.

 

[Fox Mike]

here is the site for the balloon project.
https://loon.com/

Thanks for the link. Some very interesting information there. I see that 217 hasn't followed 219 and 227 so far today. 220 is now well below Baton Rouge. There are a bunch of them out there. Two over the Gulf of Mexico and one east of Waco. Have to start looking a bit more often.

 

[bogus bill]

There has been similar weather balloons since I was a kid. Think I seen pictures of a collapsed one found on the ground. Japan flew some over the US durring the war with explosives. Think at least one if not more citizens in the NW (washington/oregon) got hurt poking around them. Think Japan hoped to start huge forest fires with them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu-Go_balloon_bomb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incendiary_balloon
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/5/130527-map-video-balloon-bomb-wwii-japanese-air-current-jet-stream/

 

[eveled]

Eventually one will get sucked into the engine of a passenger jet. Of course the brainiacs that came up with this idea wouldn't care anyway.

Drones being operated illegally by civilians near airports and at lower altitudes are a much larger threat to civilian air traffic.

Monty

And Christmas lights, and laser pointers.

 

[Fox Mike]

Was just looking at the site and noticed that there are a lot of the balloons over central and southern Africa and one over western Australia.