Hi,
I forgot to mention that the “TH” in most or all of their FAA registrations likely stands for ThunderHead balloons.
From their site:
"Thunderhead Balloon Systems have made long duration and navigational stratospheric missions a proven reality. By leveraging directional wind patterns at high altitudes, Aerostar’s Thunderhead Balloon Systems offer groundbreaking capabilities for navigation and persistence over areas of interest. "
I did a quick check, and the group that crossed the northern Gulf of Mexico was closer to 3 weeks ago. I then looked up the following sequential registrations, but don’t remember if the exact count that went by was greater than just those 5.
N871TH
N872TH
N873TH
N874TH
N875TH
Regards,
-Dan