One of the balloons the military shot down last weekend may have belonged to a group of hobbyists called the “Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade”.  They launch small Mylar balloons just to track them as they float around the world.  One of their balloons went missing near Alaska on the same day the military shot something down with a Sidewinder missile.

President Biden talked yesterday about the three balloons the military shot down last weekend over Alaska, Canada, and Michigan . . .

He said there’s no evidence they were Chinese spy balloons like the one we shot down two weeks ago.  Quote, “These three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions studying weather.”

Now we MIGHT know where at least one of those balloons came from . . . the “Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade”.  (???)

It’s a club for balloon hobbyists.  The name is a reference to a scene in the movie “Up”, where the old man gives the kid a merit badge that’s really a bottlecap.  (Here’s the scene.)

The group launches small balloons with trackers on them, just so they can track them as they float around the world.  And they’re very basic.  They usually cost between $12 and $180.

The $12 versions are basic Mylar balloons, like the kind you’d buy at a party store.  Dozens are up there at any given time, and they sometimes circle the Earth several times before they come down.  They weigh less than six pounds, so they’re allowed by the FAA.

The Bottlecap Balloon Brigade says they lost contact with one of their balloons on February 10th near Alaska.  That’s also when the military used a Sidewinder missile to shoot something down in the same area.

The Balloon Brigade’s balloon was floating at around 39,000 feet, which is also about right.  So the circumstantial evidence adds up, but the government hasn’t confirmed anything yet.

By the way, another one of these hobby balloons is set to enter U.S. airspace TODAY.  So stayed tuned.  There’s also a chance it could pass over Mexico. 

(Here’s the type of balloon the Bottlecap Balloon Brigade uses.)