The First Launch

Airborne

Balloon Away!

Our first balloon was FOUND!!

Although hundreds of weather balloons and radiosondes are released each day in the US, surprisingly few are recovered.  Defying odds, our first-ever radiosonde was found by Mark Kibler of Blanchester, Ohio.

"I tracked and recovered the iMet radiosonde that you launched yesterday. I found it in a field of corn stubble in the rural suburbs of Columbus, Ohio," Kibler wrote.  "I track and recover radiosondes as a hobby and I’ve retrieved going on 200 sondes."

Thank you so much, Mark!

L. Mark Kibler having pizza with the IU weather balloon.
Safe and sound back on Earth.
Its location according to sondehub.org
Here's where it landed.