Many Hampton Roads residents told 13News Now that they saw a pair of strange objects in the sky over Norfolk on Wednesday, and a South Dakota-based company has confirmed the objects belong to them.
“I can confirm that Aerostar currently has two Thunderhead high‑altitude balloon systems operating in the stratosphere over the Norfolk, Virginia area,” said Aerostar Director of Culture and Communications Anastasia Quanbeck.
Quanbeck said the company does not share details about specific flights. However, generally, the company supports a wide range of missions, “including extending communications over long distances, environmental monitoring, earth observation, scientific research, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance activities,” she wrote in an email on Wednesday…