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‘Unusual’: Runaway research balloon from West Texas crashes in New Mexico
KIAH-TV Ch. 39 ^ | 18 August 2024 | Caitlyn Rooney

Posted on 08/18/2024 7:14:55 PM PDT by Army Air Corps

LUBBOCK, Texas — Multiple volunteer fire departments responded to a “runaway research balloon” on Friday afternoon that was a possible danger to Bledsoe and Morton, according to the Whiteface Volunteer Fire Department.

WVFD said crews were dispatched at 12:32 p.m.

According to WFVD, the research balloon was full of helium and nitrogen. The fire department explained neither are explosive, but could displace oxygen in a confined area. WVFD also said there were lithium batteries on the balloon, which was a “substantial fire hazard.”

Units from Whiteface, Morton, Levelland and Cochran County units responded to the incident. The Milnesand Fire Department in New Mexico was notified when it became clear the balloon could cross the state line.

“At that time, Cochran County and Levelland units crossed into New Mexico with eyes on the balloon, which finally crashed about 10 miles west of Bledsoe on N.M. Hwy 262,” a social media post stated.

There was no immediate fire danger, according to WVFD, and Levelland units were released while Cochran County Units stood by until New Mexico crews arrived.

“An unusual and potentially dangerous situation came to an anticlimactic end,” the fire department said in a social media post. “Area fire departments responded promptly and professionally.”


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: New Mexico; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: balloon; boondoggle; crash; onthetaxpayerdime; seniorskipday
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1 posted on 08/18/2024 7:14:55 PM PDT by Army Air Corps
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To: Army Air Corps
This is the company that made the balloon in question.
2 posted on 08/18/2024 7:17:14 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: Army Air Corps
The fire department explained neither are explosive, but could displace oxygen in a confined area.

Did they expect the balloon to descend into a confined space, close the door, and then release the gases?

3 posted on 08/18/2024 7:20:09 PM PDT by FoxInSocks ("Hope is not a course of action." — M. O'Neal, USMC)
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To: Army Air Corps

* helium and nitrogen could displace oxygen in a confined area.
* lithium batteries on the balloon.

That’s it! We’ve reached peak stupidity. But not for long…this record will be eclipsed at the Dem Convention tomorrow


4 posted on 08/18/2024 7:20:19 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (“When exposing a crime is treated like a crime, you are being ruled by criminals” – Edward Snowden)
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To: Army Air Corps

Sounds like another crazy Bill Gates venture similar to shooting salt into the air to stop global warming.
Dangerous and ridiculous…


5 posted on 08/18/2024 7:20:29 PM PDT by doc maverick
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To: Army Air Corps

What a load of fearmongering. That balloon was equipped like any other. The only thing happening was the prevailing winds were opposite of normal in that region.


6 posted on 08/18/2024 7:20:40 PM PDT by Professional Engineer (Looks like I'll have to buy the White Album again.)
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To: FoxInSocks

The balloon was equipped with a Confined Space detector...


7 posted on 08/18/2024 7:21:37 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

EVEN MORE STUPID:

PREVAILING WINDS ARE FROM WEST TO EAST-—

NOT THE REVERSE.


8 posted on 08/18/2024 7:22:40 PM PDT by ridesthemiles (not giving up on TRUMP---EVER)
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To: Professional Engineer

It seems as though the company didn’t communicate with area first responders until after their shiny balloon went down. One would think that they were monitoring the balloon’s telemetry and might make a call to some local first responders or law enforcement as the ballon made, shall we say, a “sudden unplanned descent.”


9 posted on 08/18/2024 7:25:48 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: Army Air Corps
This is the company that made the balloon in question.

Here is their online profile

https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/438578-47

10 posted on 08/18/2024 7:26:29 PM PDT by pfflier
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To: doc maverick

I visited the company website, and it has all the right buzzwords on there if you are trying to get a government grant. They promise that the balloon will provide “equitable internet access” as well as provide a platform for environmental monitoring to help “enforce climate goals.”


11 posted on 08/18/2024 7:29:02 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: pfflier
One of their stated goals on their website:

We’re also committed to monitoring and protecting the Earth. Our platforms can carry advanced sensors that can track greenhouse gas emissions in real-time, supporting the development of enforceable, accountable climate-friendly policies.
12 posted on 08/18/2024 7:31:55 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: Army Air Corps
In the News/Activism forum, on a thread titled ‘Unusual’: Runaway research balloon from West Texas crashes in New Mexico, Army Air Corps wrote:
This is the company that made the balloon in question.

https://www.sceye.com/

It does sound like surveillance technology.

On Sceye's  website they mention 'global partners' but never specify who the are (Hullo, China? Is that you?).

Sceye stresses Internet access, ecological uses, and search and rescue, but note on the second link below, the 'primary business model for Sceye' includes a lot of text which can't be read unless you have an account on that site, after mentioning Aerospace, Defense Tech, Energy Tech..

https://tracxn.com/d/companies/sceye/__ibP3yLB74dTslzJmk9m_oTMH8SzEUIl8WHWHbv-tvJs

What does Sceye do?

Provider of solar-powered high-altitude airships. The solution helps to deliver the internet directly to devices and high-resolution imagery of the Earth in real time.

Who are Sceye's investors?

Sceye has 3 institutional investors including Lauder Partners, Boost VC and SkyGate Digital.


13 posted on 08/18/2024 7:36:36 PM PDT by ransomnote (IN GOD WE TRUST)
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To: pfflier

The founder, Mikkel Frandsen, is self-styled “humanitarian entrepreneur.”


14 posted on 08/18/2024 7:36:55 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: Army Air Corps

Levelland UFv crashes!
Reported as weather balloon 🎈
Crew and passenger not recovered in total.
BoLo 4 cackling word salad
Alien, and plaid dwarf speaking in a middle American accent.


15 posted on 08/18/2024 7:41:19 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: tet68
BoLo 4 cackling word salad

Approach with extreme caution if you are a married mayor....
16 posted on 08/18/2024 7:43:56 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: ridesthemiles

THANK YOU!!! first thing i thought of.


17 posted on 08/18/2024 7:56:56 PM PDT by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: Army Air Corps

18 posted on 08/18/2024 8:05:21 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (LORD, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.)
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To: ridesthemiles

No kidding. East wind in NM are a 10% at most thing.


19 posted on 08/18/2024 8:18:20 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Army Air Corps
In the General/Chat forum, on a thread titled Q ~ Trust Trump's Plan ~ 08/05/2024 Vol.498, Q Day 2474, Sobieski at Kahlenberg Mtn. wrote:

Here’s some information on the companies invested in Sceye, which may give an indication as to the nefarious purpose of the company

Investor Info:

Boost VC is an early stage venture capital firm with $200m AUM in San Mateo, CA founded by Adam Draper & Brayton Williams. We lead Pre-Seed rounds for Deep Tech (crypto, space, bio, AI, robotics, VR, Sci-Fi).
********************
Lauder Partners, LLC is an entity investing in various realms of the technology field. We invest both directly in companies as well as in funds - both venture and others. Since it primarily invests the capital of Gary Lauder and family members, we don’t provide much information to the public. However here is a bit more:

Areas of current investment interest: companies making radical innovations — not just incremental. For examples, see portfolio companies. Not content nor programming (so no movies, documentaries, TV shows, games, etc.) Direct investments are only considered for the US and Canada, but the closer to Silicon Valley, the better. Initial investment sizes typically range from $5M to $500K. Sole interest is in investing in companies, not buying them.

Current portfolio:

Groq (12/23) (Founded in 2016. Chips optimized for AI inference embedded in their systems for purchase or cloud usage that deliver 10X speed (1/10th latency & energy)) (groq.com)

Tevard Biosciences (12/23) (tRNA-based gene therapies to durably cure many rare diseases) (tevard.com)

Radia (11/23) (Developing huge aircraft to carry off-shore sized windmill components to on-shore sites to take advantage of their greater efficiency and participate in those developments) (radia.com)

Lykos Therapeutics (Formerly MAPS PBC) (8/23) (Psychedelic-assisted therapies (initially MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD)) (lykospbc.com)

PregnanTech (8/23) (Non-surgical device for the prevention of preterm birth) (pregnantech.com)

Everix (5/23) (Innovative optical filters that are flexible, moldable, thinner, lighter and dramatically less expensive to manufacture) (everix.co)

Celmatix (2/23) (Transforming women’s lives through better ovarian health) (celmatix.com)

KA Imaging (7/22) (X-ray imaging innovations (e.g. enabling any X-ray machine to do DEXA)) (kaimaging.com)

Meati (7/22) (Mushroom-based meat substitute) (meati.com)

Balloon (6/22) (Collaboration platform) (getballoon.com)

AngelList (5/22) (Marketplace for entrepreneurs and investors) (angellist.com)

Glowforge (4/22) (Laser cutters for making stuff/creators) (glowforge.com)

Chemify (2/22) (Digitizing chemistry and producing robotic solutions to run chemical code for drug discovery, chemical synthesis, and materials discovery) (chemify.io)

Arcadia Power (1/22) (Digital utility data platform to enable easy access to clean energy and accelerate deployment of distributed energy resources) (arcadia.com)

Liquid Death (12/21) (Makes drinking plain old water more socially acceptable) (liquiddeath.com)

People Data Labs (11/21) (peopledatalabs.com)

Memo (9/21) (Data platform that provides publisher engagement insights) (memo.co)

Sceye (8/21) (Stratospheric platform for communications and observation) (sceye.com)

OccamzRazor (7/21) (Machine learning to solve complex diseases) (occamzrazor.com)

Mitrix Bio (7/21) (Mitochondrial transfusions for many diseases of aging) (mitrix.bio)

MycoMedica Life Sciences (7/21) (Unlocking the healing potential of the fungal genome for people and planet) (mycomedica.bio)

M-Kopa (7/21) (Connected asset financing platform for the underbanked in several African countries) (m-kopa.com)

Happiest Baby (6/21) (High-tech bassinet) (happiestbaby.com)

Simba Chain (6/21) (Blockchain tools for businesses) (simbachain.com)

Audigent (6/21) (Next-gen data management and identity platform) (audigent.com)

Oura (2/21) (Sleep and fitness tracking ring) ()ouraring.com
NVision (12/20) (Quantum physics-based MRI contrast agents) (nvision-imaging.com)

Lassen Peak (11/20) (Terahertz imaging radar technology for detection of concealed weapons and objects) (lassenpeak.com)

Orca Security (10/20) (Cybersecurity) (orca.security)

Othram (8/20) (Advanced DNA forensics) (othram.com)

SpaceX (8/20) (The final frontier) (spacex.com)

Proteus Motion (6/20) (Amazing new exercise machine) (proteusmotion.com)

iBallistix (4/20) (Innovations to enhance the utility of shell casing forensics) (iballistix.com)

Curative/Snap Genomics (3/20) (COVID-19 testing (initially)) (curativeinc.com)

Georgiamune (9/19) (Next generation immunotherapeutics for cancer and autoimmune diseases)

Solius (8/19) (Systems for delivery of light optimized for synthesizing vitamin D with minimal UV exposure.) (solius.com)

AirVine Scientific (8/19) (Ultra high-speed wireless network infrastructure.) (airvine.com)

Kheiron Medical Technologies (6/19) (Applying AI to improve the accuracy and costs of mammograms) (kheironmed.com)

Heal (6/19) (Transforming US healthcare with proactive, data-driven doctor house calls that improve outcomes and lower costs.) (heal.com)

HyperloopTT (5/19) (Shooting people and their stuff through tubes.) (hyperlooptt.com)

Level (5/19) (Maker of the Level Lock, the world’s first invisible smart lock) (level.co)

Hidden Level (5/19) (Detection Sensor Technology - Enabling safe airways through sensing at scale) (hiddenlevel.com)

Raftr (4/19) (An authenticated communication and events platform for college students to stay current and connected.) (about.raftr.com)

Nature’s Fynd (Formerly Sustainable Bioproducts) (9/18) (A biotechnology company developing a new way to grow edible protein.) (naturesfynd.com)

WaterGuru (7/18) (Smart poolside robot that automatically tests and treats pool water) (waterguru.com)

NaNotics (5/18) (Treating major diseases with subtractive nanoparticles) (nanotics.com)

UniKey Technologies (3/18) (Enabling effortless access control via Bluetooth (which is harder than it seems)) () unikey.com

xCures (2/18) (Developing AI-based ‘Virtual Trials’ that continuously learn from the clinical experiences of all cancer patients) (xcures.com)

Happy Health, Inc. (Formerly Gideon Health & LVL Technologies) (11/17) (Ring-based brain/body monitor) (happyring.com)

SpinLaunch Inc. (10/17) (Revolutionary small satellite space launch company) (spinlaunch.com)

Via Transportation (10/17) (Ride-sharing) (ridewithvia.com/)
Openwater (8/17) (Healthcare company that is revolutionizing and miniaturizing the way we read and write our body and brains) (openwater.cc)

Cortene (8/17) (Pharmaceutical for treating chronic fatigue syndrome, and related diseases.) (corteneinc.com)

Caavo Inc. (7/17) (Unifying home entertainment by bringing together all your devices, services and control via a fancy HDMI switch.) (caavo.com)

Stella (8/16) (Acquired by Ingenovis) (Company-to-company referral NW and AI personal recruiter) (stella.ai)

Cocoterra Company (5/16) (Developing appliance to make chocolate at home) (cocoterra.com)

Thrive Bioscience, Inc. (12/15) (Solutions to automate, with analytics, cell and stem cell culture for drug discovery and research.) (thrivebio.com)

Anyroad Inc. (10/13) (Software for tour and activity businesses.) (anyroad.com)

Magnolia Medical Technologies, Inc. (5/12) (Blood drawing system that decreases contamination in blood cultures.) (magnolia-medical.com)

Samba TV (Formerly Flingo) (a.k.a. Free Stream Media) (3/12) (Smart TV software) (samba.tv)

Transpose Platform (Formerly “Trusted Insight”) (4/10) (Institutional Investor marketplace for alternative investments in PE, hedge funds and real assets) (transposeplatform.vc)

Capture (Formerly “YesVideo”) (’00) (Wholesale provider of home video on tape-to-DVD conversion) (capture.com)

Some of Past portfolio companies

Rezolve (4/21) (”Omni-channel” mobile commerce and engagement platform) (rezolve.com) (NASDAQ: as RZLV)

Hippo Insurance (7/19) (A home insurance company transforming insurance to focus on the customer) (myhippo.com) (NYSE: as HIPO)

Trilogy Education Services (9/18) (Partners with leading universities to help companies bridge the digital skills gap.) (Bought by 2U for $750M in 2019) (trilogyed.com)

Twistlock (8/18) (Cybersecurity platform for cloud native applications) (Acquired by Palo Alto Networks, 7/19)

Marqeta (5/18) (Open API card issuing platform for customized payment solutions) (marqeta.com) IPO as MQ 6/21

OpenGov (4/18) (Cloud-based software for public sector budgeting and performance) (opengov.com) (Acquired by Cox Enterprises 2/24)

Polystream (a.k.a.Elektraglide) (11/17) (Polystream’s technology is enabling video games and demanding 3D applications to be streamed at unprecedented scale) (polystream.com) (Acquired by Mythical Games, 1/22)

Beyond Meat (7/17) (Plant-based synthetic meat that actually tastes great) ((IPO 5/19 as BYND) ) beyondmeat.com

Didi Chuxing (2/17) (Ride-sharing) (didiglobal.com) IPO as DIDI

Pillpack (11/16) (Full-service pharmacy that sorts your medication by the dose) (pillpack.com) (Sold to Amazon for ~$1B in ‘18)

WaveShift//SightGlass Vision (8/16) (Technologies for Eye Health) (Acquired by CooperCompanies, 1/21)

Crunchsters (7/16) (Elevating snacking with tasty sprouted plant protein) (crunchsters.com) (Acquired by VG Growth Partners, 12/19)

23andMe (11/15) (DNA testing) (SPAC 6/21 as ME) 23andme.com

Uber (3/15) (Ride-sharing) (IPO 5/19 as UBER) uber.com

Starry Inc. Starry Inc. ( 12/14) (Formerly Project Decibel Inc.) (Improved 5G ISP) (starry.com) (3/22 SPAC NYSE: STRY)

Has Silicon Valley IC deep state investments written in large IMO
*******************

SkyGate Digital

SkyGate Digital is growing rapidly with a team of professionals. We invest in early stage startups backed by passionate founders

Investment portfolio (partial list):

Coinbase- San Francisco
Aragon- Barcelona
Etherscan - Kuala Lumpur
Unstoppable- San Francisco
Colossal- Dallas
Care Weather- Provo
Sceye- Mariarity, N.M.
Agnostiq- Toronto
Octane AI- New York City
**********

Not much on Sceye but their investors reek of deep state silicon valley, AI type companies rooted in San Fran with Stanford globalist education backgrounds. very suspicious


20 posted on 08/18/2024 10:45:15 PM PDT by ransomnote (IN GOD WE TRUST)
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