I have much more of a problem with the legions of dumbasses out there shining laser pointers directly at passing aircraft.
I think part of the problem is some of those people think that pointing a laser at something is just like pointing their finger at something, only easier to see. It's like, "Look, an airplane!" Except, to the airplane, your "finger" is like a giant eye-piercing needle.
Calling them laser pointers and using them for presentations and stargazing probably helps conceal the fact that they're still lasers.
You can see the plane in the pictures on their website. It appears to be within a mile or two of the balloon. Notifying the airports is a good practice, and making the box radar-reflective is going out of their way to help make sure nothing bad happens.
Well, commercial airliners don't have radar that would necessarily pick it up.
I must admit, I'm a little gob-smacked that he just launched without a clearance from the FAA, but I don't have a map of the airways there so perhaps it was outside controlled airspace. Even so... whew.
The radar is not for the planes. The controllers on the ground look at the big picture and direct traffic for appropriate separation requirements. It's their radar that would pick up the craft.
Nobody actually gets "clearance" from the FAA. The administration sets the framework and guidelines for operation. This would fall under an unmanned aircraft of some sort, and would be subject to the airspace regulations it operated in. Believe it or not, hot air balloons actually have the right of way in any airspace since they are the most difficult to control.
The issue is that the FAA has a procedure for anyone who wants to launch a pilotless balloon (or rockets, etc) that involves getting pre-approval, then clearance on the day. It is to allow them time to issue the appropriate NOTAMs.
No. Define "just missed". Flying across country (Florida to Washington), I saw another plane flying in the other direction. The plane looked and felt like it was right next to us, like .. hundreds of yards apart. Cross-country planes do this all the time, so far as I can gather.
In my opinion, it's far more likely that he greatly underestimated the distances between the two planes. People who aren't used to these things tend to see a few miles of separation as a few hundred feet instead. Airliners are big.
I have much more of a problem with the legions of dumbasses out there shining laser pointers directly at passing aircraft.