Mounting the TV antenna on a plane or a boat was outmoded. It would be pricey and place people in harm's way. Fat Albert provided them with a technical solution. That's not practical, so we fly at 10,000 feet and put our signal into the center of Havana. The TV Marti signal is unconventional.
Information now rains down into Cuba on three channels.
Since the balloon moves like a kite at 10,000 feet, the payload compensates by panning its TV beam to lock on the target. The combination of Fat Albert, three channels and herky-jerky movement has Castro's jammers gagging to stop the truth from connecting with viewers. Under a separate contract with Lockheed-Martin Corp., Pallone's people take care of the custom UHF system that flies on a Fat Albert. It's a 1,200-pound payload Pallone developed with his chief engineer, Ray Ulrick. Inside Fat Albert Similar in size to the TV antenna, each aerostat radar is a work of art.