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VGT-2 Begins Lap 5... Flying Solo?
Sat., Mar. 13, 2021
Last Thursday, after several days of radio silence, the Prep’s STEM class balloon VGT-2 checked in from a hundred miles northeast of the Bahamas, cruising along at 30 mph at 43,154 ft., thus beginning a 5th circuit of the globe. • It’s anyone’s guess as to the fate of brother balloon VGT-1, which has not been heard from for about 2 weeks, last checking in over Chesapeake Bay as it was nearing the completion of its own 3rd lap of the Earth. Common to both balloons, it had previously experienced long periods of missing telemetry, most likely due to being out of range of radio receivers during daylight hours (to power the solar panels), but two weeks of silence does not bode well. So, light a candle for VGT-1 as its sibling VGT-2 continues the STEM class mission. [Read about the STEM Class balloon project, including how to follow the balloons, as well as previous mission updates here.]
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Last Thursday, after several days of radio silence, the Prep’s STEM class balloon VGT-2 checked in from a hundred miles northeast of the Bahamas, cruising along at 30 mph at 43,154 ft., thus beginning a 5th circuit of the globe. • It’s anyone’s guess as to the fate of brother balloon VGT-1, which has not been heard from for about 2 weeks, last checking in over Chesapeake Bay as it was nearing the completion of its own 3rd lap of the Earth. Common to both balloons, it had previously experienced long periods of missing telemetry, most likely due to being out of range of radio receivers during daylight hours (to power the solar panels), but two weeks of silence does not bode well. So, light a candle for VGT-1 as its sibling VGT-2 continues the STEM class mission. [Read about the STEM Class balloon project, including how to follow the balloons, as well as previous mission updates here.]
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