The problem and our solution
Today’s weather observation infrastructure relies on a global network of radiosondes and ground-based stations. The gaps fall precisely where they hurt most: over oceans, polar regions, and remote areas where key weather patterns form. The resulting weather uncertainty costs tens of billions every year in the U.S. alone and results in loss of life worldwide.
To close the atmospheric data gap worldwide, WindBorne operates and maintains Atlas—a global sensing network that comprises the largest balloon constellation in the world, continuously collecting in-situ atmospheric soundings from pole to pole. Atlas is powered by autonomous, long-duration high-altitude balloons called Global Sounding Balloons (GSBs) that drastically improve upon legacy weather balloons in performance, endurance, sustainability, and cost. GSBs weigh less than three pounds at launch and carry sensors calibrated to collect vital atmospheric data from ground level into the stratosphere. Atlas currently maintains hundreds of GSBs aloft globally.
At scale, Atlas will encompass the globe with 10,000 GSBs concurrently aloft—the coverage level cited by the World Meteorological Organization as adequate for weather forecasting.
