In article , Mike Coslo
writes:

If you wish to believe that this cannot be done, despite
overwhelming evidence that it can and is being done with regularity,
then I commend you in the strength of your belief. ;^)

In my industry, we have a saying:

"If it happens, it must be possible"

This is *so odd* - it's like trying to describe how an antenna works,
yet getting bogged down by people that refuse to believe that we can
extrude aluminum, that the government would allow people to talk over
wireless connections, and besides, it is impossible for electromagfetic
waves to travel through the air anyway.

When the ARRL sent Paul Godley to Great Britain in 1921 to listen for American
hams on 200 meters, at least some of the professionals of the day said it
couldn't be done. And they were right, in a way: They didn't know about
ionospheric refraction, and that the model they used to predict signal strength
at a distance for longer waves wasn't valid for 200 meters.

At any rate, I am moving on with the project. If you choose to believe
that Myself and others are not doing this, then have at it! 8^)

It occurs to me that the problems of cold and high altitude are interrelated. I
don;t think high altitude *in itself* is a problem for most modern electronics
(hard drives are a notable exception). The problem of high altitude operation
is, I think, a *thermal* problem - "room temperature" thin air doesn't carry
away enough heat, and components can overheat due to this lack. But if the thin
air is forty below, it may be adequate with some insulation. Etc.

As for lifting capacity and other problems: They've obviously been solved
before. Hydrogen may be usable - the package doesn't have any spark-generating
components, and no humans are aboard. ("oh the humanity")

The only possibly-insurmountable problem I can see is airspace. And that's
curable geographically. As in, you might have to go to Ohio or Indiana to
launch.
Big deal - that's what minivans are for.

I wish you good luck and all success, Mike.

73 de Jim, N2EY