Don’t be alarmed about these balloons over Hawaii

HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation announced that two high-altitude balloons (HAB) will be launched off Hawaii Island near Waimea.

According to the HDOT, the HABs will be launched by Sierra-Nevada Corporation and World View between March 23 and March 25.

The mission is to demonstrate the capabilities of uncrewed stratospheric communication.

After being launched up to 70,000 and 90,000 feet in the sky, the HABs will remain near the island for about two days. It will then travel to the continental United States over the course of approximately 60 days.

Sierra-Nevada Corporation said these balloons are not being used to spy on American citizens and federal, state, and local authorities are aware of the flight trajectory.