JPL is floating a helium balloon over Earth's south pole. Why not float one over Venus' north - actually, several.
We're looking for about the same air-pressure of 34.5 mbar - safe from the down-sucking vortex. At the 85+° poles that's 70 km above Venus, where it's 240 K (-33 C). I've already done this work, for th'equator (where Hadley is pushing up): I can't carry very much. For the equator I gave up and went with aeroplanes and (later) ramjets instead. Helicopter-assistance for the lower deck balloon.
Over Venus helium and hydrogen both are expensive. Hydrogen is still less expensive, however; and, further, it won't react with much up here. I'm not worried that it needs be replenished often.
Venus' poles, especially 70 km over the poles, will have sunlight all year 'round - removing some of my other concerns. For energy the sun hits from the side; the gondola doesn't need as much cable.
So what does this stratospheric balloon do? It's cold, dry, and vacuum enough that it can bear some computers aloft. These computers can assuredly relay messages between the lower satellites and even to Earth (at what, 3-10 light-minutes away).
MATH 6:15 PM MST - Over the 80s° north at least, a ring of such floaters is 30° from Maxwell's floaty farms at the 50s°. I was curious about pure line-of-sight so I trig'ged at how much hypotenuse we need to get past a 6050 km hump, with 15 degrees on either side. 6050 = cos15 x. That's 6263; 213 km over the surface. And that's on both sides. So: not happenin', not with balloons.
As a side-note, however, 50s° will be line-of-sight with "low"-orbit sats at 1948 km.
MOAR POWAR 8/12: Supplemented from space.
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