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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Donna Lu Science writer

Inside the world of Australia’s high-altitude balloonists and why they’re not afraid of a missile

United States Australia Brad Tucker Andrew Scott Earth
Hobbyists launch a high altitude balloon from Centenary Park, Ararat, in south-west Victoria on 19 February. The balloon travelled 30km upwards and 50km north-east, measuring temperature, pressure and humidity.
Hobbyists launch a high altitude balloon from Centenary Park, Ararat, in south-west Victoria on 19 February. The balloon travelled 30km upwards and 50km north-east, measuring temperature, pressure and humidity. Photograph: Photographer: Christine Kaucner/Andrew Scott / Eastern & Mountain District Radio Club

Last Sunday, on a bright and cloudless morning, about 20 people gathered in a park in Ararat, in south-west Victoria, to release a balloon.

The hobbyists, members of the Eastern & Mountain District Radio Club’s high-altitude balloon group, loaded their aircraft with 400 grams of equipment: a GPS; sensors measuring temperature, pressure and humidity; and a camera that relayed pictures from the air every 30 seconds.

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