Systems and applications of lighter-than-air (LTA) platforms

A system comprising:

• an airborne platform comprising a balloon comprising a gas enclosure, wherein the balloon is an unmanned balloon;
• a GPS unit configured to determine geographic coordinates and velocities of the airborne platform;
• a pressure sensor configured to determine an altitude of the airborne platform;
• a processor, wherein the processor comprises an algorithm to determine whether to release a ballast based on a set of termination criteria;
• a ballast release mechanism configured to release the ballast;
• and
• a neck release mechanism configured to release a payload,
• wherein the system comprises a first flight termination device and a second flight termination device, wherein each of the first flight termination device and the second flight termination device is configured to cause termination of a flight of the airborne platform and has at least two power sources each configured to provide power to at least one of the first flight termination device and the second flight termination device.