The stratospheric balloon raised a white and red flag over Rzeszów on Monday morning. This is how the city celebrates the 106th anniversary of Poland regaining independence. The ten-meter flag flies at a height of 50 meters and will be visible until dusk.
The initiator of the unusual idea is the Podkarpackie Center of Innovation (PCI). On Monday morning, the Marshal of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Władysław Ortyl, gave the signal to raise a flag over ten meters high.
He pointed out that on the day when we celebrate the anniversary of regaining independence and remember the difficult past, we must also remember the present times in which we live.
– (Current) Also difficult times, in times that are challenges. Today, with this act, we join patriotic activities for this time, for this moment – said the marshal, giving the signal to raise the flag. The event was accompanied by thick fog, which began to dissipate over time.
The balloon raised a white and red flag over the cityTVN24
The flag will be visible until dusk
– The white and red flag, raised to a height, although in the fog, will slowly reveal itself, will emerge from this fog throughout the day and will certainly be a great attraction, as well as a reminder that everyone on this day should do things which will remind us of the freedom and independence of our homeland – added Ortyl.
The balloon raised a white and red flag over the cityTVN24
Michał Mielniczuk from PCI noted that the event is a tribute to all generations fighting to regain independence, “but we also look to the future with hope, hoping that economic development will result in some kind of resilience that will ensure our independence for the coming years.”
The flag will be visible until dusk.
Raising the flag was possible thanks to the involvement of the Supercluster group, whose project related to the preparation of stratospheric missions took 2nd place during the first Podkarpacie edition of the hackathon NASA Space Apps Challenge in 2021
The Podkarpackie Center of Innovation (PCI) was established as a result of cooperation between the local government of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, the European Commission and the Ministry of Development as part of the Catching-up Regions initiative. He deals with, among others: promotion and use of scientific achievements in the economy.
Main photo source: TVN24