Does aircraft/ATC get any information directly from a weather balloon? We have been launching radiosonde (a meteorological instrument containing GPS and other sensors to measure meteorological variables attached to a balloon filled with Hydrogen) to obtain meteorological data of the atmosphere.
This radiosonde transmits the information to a ground station we have in a frequency close to 400 MHz (well, this is what we uses, not sure about others). We frequently update the vertical height, direction, bearing position etc to our nearest ATC.
I was told that ATC and aircraft get information from the radiosonde directly (I am not sure what sort of information they get) other than what we give to the ATC.
So, I want to know whether ATC/aircraft get information directly from a radiosonde and if they do, what sort of information do they get?
I am not concerned about the radiosonde's meteorological data going into the weather models for forecast products that is available to aviation industry. What I need to know is if ATC/aircraft can know the position of the balloon/radiosonde directly by the information the radiosonde transmits?
In essence, can ATC/aircraft track a radiosonde without inputs from the agency that launches/manages the radiosonde?
No, neither ATC nor aircraft receive any information directly from a radiosonde balloon. However, in many cases the meteorological agency operating the radiosondes does use them to produce forecasts that are made available to ATC and pilots.