Narrative:

First off I was returning from a duty fam and off work for the previous 5 days. I had noticed on my scope on the northwest side of my boundary and east side of my boundary two intruder codes of 4453 up very high. I had to ask someone about them and they said they were balloons. I had no previous information or knowledge about them. I had no idea that one of them would soon make an impact on my decision making and assumed they were staying above my traffic. I never gave thought to them coming down or moving into the path of one of my aircraft.my supervisor pointed towards the north west part of my scope to the 4453 at FL530 or thereabouts. He said; 'they are going to release the balloon and keep an eye on it'. I inquired what that meant and he said drop it and to keep an eye on it. So; I continued working steady traffic glancing towards the code and not noticing anything. A flight checked on at FL350 as I became distracted on the east side of my sector and had to ask who called again. The intruder had dropped on my eastern 4453. I called traffic to [two] flights. I believe right after that conflict alert activated with aircraft X and the intruder. I didn't know the rate of descent; even the direction; but it appeared in 1 minute the aircraft would fly right into the path of the balloon. I didn't know really what to say or do except tell the aircraft X to turn for an avoidance vector and tried to explain what was going on. I was so shocked that in my 29 years plus in the agency I am vectoring an aircraft for something I don't know about or had any kind of briefing. I had to go on the internet to read about the project and realize the payload is about 50 pounds while the balloon weighs about 250 pounds. This is not something a jet wants to hit at 440 mph or take an evasive RA at the last second possibly injuring people in the back of the plane.there needs to be an immediate response from the FAA. 1st off; I learned today there were 10 different balloons in our airspace and they all are squawking 4453. This needs to be changed immediately to codes of 4453 to 4463 for example. When a controller in charge or supervisor walks up to say a balloon is releasing there needs to be no confusion which target is starting down. Secondly; the workforce needs a briefing on these balloons; there approximate descent rate; color; size at altitude; etc. So we can describe it and obviously anticipate what needs to be said to an aircraft in the path if it is released towards the earth. And finally; here are some of the latest incidents below that I found. Do any of us as controllers or the agency want it to include an incident with an aircraft? I think not. Our national airspace system should not be subject to random chance without controller briefings!

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ZOA Controller reported of a balloon descending in his airspace and having to issue traffic on the balloon to other aircraft. Controller was not briefed on the balloon's mission prior to working the position.

Narrative: First off I was returning from a Duty Fam and off work for the previous 5 days. I had noticed on my scope on the NW side of my boundary and East side of my boundary two Intruder codes of 4453 up very high. I had to ask someone about them and they said they were balloons. I had no previous information or knowledge about them. I had no idea that one of them would soon make an impact on my decision making and assumed they were staying above my traffic. I never gave thought to them coming down or moving into the path of one of my aircraft.My supervisor pointed towards the North West part of my scope to the 4453 at FL530 or thereabouts. He said; 'They are going to release the balloon and keep an eye on it'. I inquired what that meant and he said drop it and to keep an eye on it. So; I continued working steady traffic glancing towards the code and not noticing anything. A flight checked on at FL350 as I became distracted on the East side of my sector and had to ask who called again. The Intruder had dropped on my Eastern 4453. I called traffic to [two] flights. I believe right after that Conflict Alert activated with Aircraft X and the Intruder. I didn't know the rate of descent; even the direction; but it appeared in 1 minute the aircraft would fly right into the path of the balloon. I didn't know really what to say or do except tell the Aircraft X to turn for an avoidance vector and tried to explain what was going on. I was so shocked that in my 29 years plus in the agency I am vectoring an aircraft for something I don't know about or had any kind of briefing. I had to go on the internet to read about the project and realize the payload is about 50 pounds while the balloon weighs about 250 pounds. This is not something a jet wants to hit at 440 MPH or take an evasive RA at the last second possibly injuring people in the back of the plane.There needs to be an immediate response from the FAA. 1st off; I learned today there were 10 different balloons in our airspace and they ALL are squawking 4453. This needs to be changed immediately to codes of 4453 to 4463 for example. When a CIC or supervisor walks up to say a balloon is releasing there needs to be no confusion which target is starting down. Secondly; the workforce needs a briefing on these balloons; there approximate descent rate; color; size at altitude; etc. so we can describe it and obviously anticipate what needs to be said to an aircraft in the path if it is released towards the Earth. And finally; here are some of the latest incidents below that I found. Do any of us as controllers or the Agency want it to include an incident with an aircraft? I think not. Our national airspace system should not be subject to random chance without controller briefings!

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.