The circumnavigation of another party-type foil balloon from Australia has demonstrated that having one circle the Southern Hemisphere is no fluke. Andy Nguyen, VK3YT, launched his PS-46 balloon, which carried an Amateur Radio payload, on May 25. The balloon completed the trip on June 4. Nguyen’s earlier PS-41 balloon was the first such balloon to circle Earth.

“This time it was in the right position — before arriving in Western Australia — for the jet stream to push it over land,” Nguyen said.

The helium balloons in this series carried a solar-powered 25 mW transmitter which sent WSPR, JT9, and sometimes Olivia signals on 30 and 20 meters, enabling their tracking and the gathering of reports on altitude, speed, direction, and battery condition. The PS-46 balloon completed its journey around the globe in slightly more than 12 days. – Thanks to Jim Linton, VK3PC