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IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN! - High-altitude balloon detected over Western U.S.
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this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2024
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How cheap is it to get those balloons? The last time this happened they also shot down a bunch of hobbyist balloons. We could deploy a fleet of them, it would be very funny
Hobbyist balloons are rather cheap. The smallest are a couple feet across and cost under $10. A typical weather balloon is around 20 feet in diameter and costs about $100.
Compare to the millions it costs to track an object, deploy fighter jets, pay for missiles to shoot one down and one has an impressive guerrilla operation.
https://www.scientificsales.com/Meteorological-Weather-Sounding-Balloon-s/25.htm
I guess the gas is expensive then, right?
More expensive than the balloon, but not outrageous. The amount of gas needed is a function of payload size and ascent rate but 3400l would carry a 1kg payload to ~35km over about 2hr before bursting (based on a calculator I found).
It was tough to find pricing for helium, but one place had prices listed and would run about $350 for the gas. Assuming that's normal pricing, one could hoist a little Lenin statue to high altitude for around $500 all in.
New bit idea: fundraise enough for a fleet with a big picture of Lenin sprayed onto the exterior of the balloons. Have them all continuously fly over the US mainland on the air currents. Ensuing chaos will be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHwAPy1pWhI with baloons
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: