a reusable balloon that lands itself, if the battery allows.

Reusable weather drone pitched as the fix for disposable balloons

Swiss weather-tech firm Meteomatics announced the Strato on Sept. 8, a reusable quadcopter weather drone rated to 39,000 feet and tested to a record 34,245 feet, collecting temperature, humidity, pressure and wind data. It flies on demand, unlike balloons limited to two scheduled launches a day, and survives 80 mph winds and -70°C with de-icing and a backup parachute. Weather balloons still climb past 60,000 feet before bursting, and their unrecovered debris is the waste problem the Strato is sold to solve. No battery life figures were given.

Source: Reusable weather drone pitched as the fix for disposable balloons — New Atlas

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Topics: drone · weathertech · innovation · science · technews