Rockzip Highballoons Reaches One Third Of Its Kickstarter Goal In Six Days

Aerospace start-up, Rockzip Highballoons has has raised over 30% of its $15,000 goal from 125 crowdfunding backers to commercialize its first model of highballoons (high-altitude balloons), which will be commissioned as floating "space satellites" ... and done so in just six days.

According to a company news release, a highballoon is a big balloon which floats to the edge of space. These balloons can often reach over 120,000 feet in altitude, 3-4x higher than flying commercial airliners, and can float for hours, weeks and even months at a time. A highballoon, sometimes referred to as a "poor man's satellite," is considered the most inexpensive way to reach and remain in near space, defined as the region of the Earth's atmosphere that lies between 65,000 and 328,000 feet above sea level.

Rockzip's anticipates that its highballoons will be flown by students and entrepreneurs alike creating diverse applications, include providing internet access to remote parts of the world, testing rocket components, and clocking wind conditions inside giant hurricanes.

Rockzip's goal is to "revolutionize the highballoon industry." Currently, the company says, high-altitude balloons are expensive, largely handmade-to-order devices with little industry standardization or efficient manufacturing methods. Their business model is to make them "accessible to the masses at very affordable prices," nearly 50% less than current comparable highballoon offerings.

FMI: http://kck.st/1sSGy6c