AA4VU-1 status

[Tim Holman]

To all,

I ran a projection of the pico-balloon path using NOAA software, based on its last reported location and time. The good news is that AA4VU-1 definitely made it into the jet stream (> 40,000 ft. altitude, traveling in excess of 100 mph). Assuming the balloon survives the passage across the Atlantic Ocean, the NOAA simulation indicates it should pop up somewhere off the northern European coast sometime around noon this Friday. APRS is used in Europe, so we should get a signal once the balloon is within range of a digipeater.

Tim, WA4LLF

[Tim Holman]

To all,

Unfortunately I selected the wrong starting date in my previous simulation. Here is the revised trajectory prediction for the next 4 days, plotted using a Mercator map projection. This indicates the balloon should skirt north Africa and head into Spain in about four days. There are a few APRS digipeaters on islands in the Atlantic, so it is possible we will hear from AA4VU-1 sooner than that.

Tim, WA4LLF