Dominican Republic: Unknown Object Identified as Research Balloon

 Source: Dario Hoy / El Pais (Dominican Republic)

Date: 12.04.2025

Dominican Republic: Unknown Object Identified as Research Balloon

The strange object visible from various parts of the Dominican Republic over the past few hours proved to be a stratospheric balloon from Raven Aerostar’s Thunderhead program.

Meteorological analyst Jean Suriel explained this on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) account.

“This type of balloon is at an altitude of approximately 64,300 feet, making it clearly visible from some areas of the country,” he added.

Suriel further noted that, according to data from the Caribbean Astronomy Society (SAC), the balloon bears the designation HBAL787 / N253TH and is regularly used for (military) intelligence or scientific studies.

(Photo: Diario Hoy)