This morning I checked my SkyAware system and discovered a pink blob on the map (shown below). The HBAL identified made me think of a hot air balloon, but they do not fly at 40,000+ feet, so I checked the flight page and found out it was part of a program called Project Loon. I did a bit of quick research and found out that this project was developed to provide internet service (albeit it slow) to areas that have no service or have been involved in a natural disaster.
The balloon was launched west of my location in Virginia at 7:11 EDT last night and currently is floating in the stratosphere at about 64,900 ft and traveling east between 5 and 17 MPH. What amazed me is the technology that is around us every day that we know little to nothing about. While the system may not be cost effective, the development of technology is paramount. I am glad that I had the opportunity to learn about this project.
