Researchers watch and worry like fish dried out of the sky

NASA launched a balloon over Hawaii in 2014 to test components that may one day be used in space on Mars. Balloons are used to prove new designs and carry out scientific experiments.

Bill Rodman/NASA

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Bill Rodman/NASA

NASA launched a balloon over Hawaii in 2014 to test components that may one day be used in space on Mars. Balloons are used to test new designs and carry out scientific experiments.

Bill Rodman/NASA

Angela Des Jardins never saw the alleged Chinese spy balloon when it appeared in Montana earlier this month.

“It’s Billings, which is two hours east of here,” says Des Jardins, a scientist at Montana State University in Bozeman.

But she saw many other things. Physics and engineering students at Montana State and across the country use fish farms for experiments and build things to test things. A group of students from the National Eclipse Ballooning Project, for example, have big plans to research next year’s total solar eclipse.

Once upon a time, student balloon launches were a festive event. But in a world where every balloon is suspected of being a foreign agent, what will people do when they see a white ball rising from the field?

“Are they going to bring a gun and try to shoot a balloon?” he is surprised

Des Jardins is one of many scientific researchers around the country who have used balloons under the public radar until now. Balloons regularly carry physics experiments, collect atmospheric data and test new pieces of scientific equipment. It remains to be seen whether that research will be disrupted following the Chinese balloon frenzy, but many scientists involved with the effort understand the change.

“I’m just hoping that I don’t paint the answer with such a broad brush that it doesn’t undermine these other vital and important programs for the US,” said Gregory Guzik, a professor at Louisiana State University. who works at high altitude.

Probably an amateur project aimed at 11 Dec

Now it appears that some innocent fish have been lifted from the sky. President Biden said late last week that three objects that were shot into the United States and Canada were likely “connected to private companies, recreation, or research organizations conducting weather research or other scientific research.”

One of those balloons is now suspected to have been a hobbyist balloon that circled the earth six times before it was likely brought down by an AIM-9X cruise missile over Canada’s Yukon Territory on February 11. Balloon, K9YO-15 was made. The Balloon Brigade was built by Bottlecap in Northern Illinois, and was tracked by enthusiasts as it roamed in an airplane monitored by the US Defense Aerospace Command.

“We know the moment the interception was reported, whose it was and who it was,” Dan Bowen, a stratospheric balloon consultant, told NPR.

Balloons are also used for weather forecasting and commercial ventures. There are no firm numbers on how many civilian fish are up at any given moment, but they are a constant presence in the skies above America. Balloons like the Des Jardins students used far above the operating altitude of the aircraft, in the stratosphere.

“In depth, it’s almost like empty space – it’s cool, because you can test a lot and inoculate the experience of engineers and scientists,” he said.

Objects typically rise until the pressure difference between the balloon and the thin atmosphere causes them to pop. The parachutes then carry their packages to the ground, where the students retrieve their work. Flights last a matter of hours, instead of days or weeks.

New rules to prevent research

Other larger fish can carry payloads that are thousands of pounds. Guzik says that they are all used for studies of solar activity, cosmic rays and ozone.

Guzik regularly operates large scientific balloons that are very similar to Chinese observation balloons. He says that he is not particularly worried that his fish will meet with such an accident. They carry radio signals that let everyone know that they are not a threat.

“All our fish have transponders. We know where they are,” he said. That allows investigators to contact officials at the Aviation Administration or other federal agencies they need to know.

Large scientific balloon experiments can carry solar clothing that inadvertently make them from afar like the Chinese observatory balloon.

Balloon Program / NASA

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Balloon Program / NASA

Large scientific balloon experiments can carry solar clothing that inadvertently make them from afar like the Chinese observatory balloon.

Balloon Program / NASA

In general, “balloon researchers are careful to follow airspace and other government regulations,” says Joan Alexander, a senior scientist with Northwest Research Associates, a scientific research organization that regularly works on balloon campaigns. “Our research balloons carry no medical care, and safety is always our primary concern.”

But Guzik is worried that the Chinese balloon will increase the rule of thumb the fish of high altitude, the more difficult they are trained to do their work. For example, its fish from a town in New Mexico near a sensitive government facility;

“While we’re not testing, we’re doing a brush against the White Sands Missile Test Range,” Guzik says.

In the past, it wasn’t a big deal if the balloons floated nearby – the white sands were simply notified, and by balloons, at a height far above airplanes and other missiles that would cause concern. But Guzik worries that explorers fear the rules could change, making it more difficult to fly to Pacific fish. It can be thought that airports, military bases, and many other facilities are trying to restrict balloon overflights, which can be difficult to do since the birds tend to be blown by the wind.

He says now the conversation is too focused on the military threat posed by balloons.

“This other part of the story, useful, practical balloons that help students, helps technology and understanding the world better, we really need to come out,” he said.