The little Sky Tracker pico balloon enjoyed a triumphant launch by Sky Academy students and the Englewood Amateur Radio Society in February. It carried the callsign N4EAR-1 and a lot of hope and ambition as it soared, communicating via APRS -- that is, until it met the Category 1 storm known as Jangmi over Japan on the 2nd of June. Its journey of 153,468 miles or 24,689 kilometres, ended there, 103 days and 14 hours after it had first begun.

There was loss, yes, but no grief.

As club president Bill Reed K7WWR wrote in an email to Newsline: [quote] "It was a great weak-signal learning experience and a great kickoff of our STEM support of Sky Academy and a great learning experience for the students." [endquote]

The flight of the little balloon not only launched the school's STEM program but the partnership with the amateur radio society.