This is a good reminder that while satellite technology and operations are cool, sometimes the cheap ways will work just fine, too. Balloons are great if you want to look at areas that are easy to fly over. Just too bad these people feel compelled to do it over North Dakota.
I don’t have anything against North Dakota. I just don’t think about the state. I’ve been stationed there once, a long time ago, and don’t remember too much, aside from the tornadoes, the blizzards, the wind, the **nothingness**, and the bugs.
So, I am not too surprised that someone would be shocked to see all those lights in western North Dakota. It’s probably why they are using this DIY balloon, because no satellite owners are remotely interested in the area (actually, they probably just don’t care, and would make an overhead collection as long as they get money for services). I would bet that in some ways the tech on these balloons is better than what’s on the satellites.
Related articles
- SkyTruth Tracks Fracking From the Edge of Space (ecowatch.com)
- Why Won’t Obama Visit North Dakota? (realclearpolitics.com)
- This Spy Balloon Will Soon Float Over the Fracking Fields of North Dakota (motherboard.vice.com)
- This Spy Balloon Will Soon Float Over the Fracking Fields of North Dakota (blacklistednews.com)
The Mad Spaceball 
2 thoughts on “The poor man’s LEO satellite”