Did USAF Shoot Down a Hobbyist Club Balloon?

The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade says it cannot confirm fate of ‘missing’ balloon.

Jonathan Welsh

Friday, February 17, 2023 at 05:24 PM ET

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Bill Brown with Skytracker device attached to a mylar balloon, ready for launch. [Courtesy: Bill Brown]

Key Takeaways:

The focus on recently downed airborne objects has shifted to hobbyist pico balloons, with speculation that one specific balloon (K9YO) from the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB) might have been shot down after going missing near Alaska. NIBBB maintains that claims linking their balloon to the downings are unsubstantiated without recovery.
Pico ballooning is a hobby combining amateur radio and scientific tracking, often used for STEM education, and has operated legally under existing FAA regulations for decades, largely unnoticed until now.
The Biden administration's plan to improve tracking, detection, and regulation of unmanned airborne objects has raised concerns among hobbyists about potential new restrictions that could impact this educational and scientific activity.

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Attention surrounding the downing of four airborne objects by the U.S. military this month has turned from an alleged Chinese spy balloon to smaller scientific balloons launched by hobbyists, students and enthusiasts.

One such object, a so-called pico balloon transmitting a call sign of K9YO and belonging to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB), might be among the craft recently destroyed by Air Force fighters. The balloon club reported on its blog that it has not heard from the balloon since February 11, when it was drifting near Alaska.