A partnership between the Pella Amateur Radio Club and Jefferson Intermediate School broke records around the globe for the annual launch of a balloon.

The Pella 5th Grade science classes, taught by Joshua Steenhoek, Kevin Van Dyke, Jill Payne, and Rhonda DeJong, launched an amateur radio GPS Tracker on a helium balloon on September 23rd for a science experiment for their students.

According to Jim Emmert with the Pella Amateur Radio Club, that tracker was carried at 40,000 feet above sea level for over 98 days and finally disappeared over China after flying around the world 5.6 times. The students were able to get on their computers and smart-phones and watch in real time where the balloon was flying.

This experiment was facilitated by the Pella Amateur Radio Club and financed by the Pella Community Foundation and the Marion County Community Foundation.