26 August 2015   90° North

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United States Coast Guard C-130 Loadmasters dropping an Airborne Expendable Ice Buoy (AXIB) buoy from the open back ramp at the North Pole during an Arctic Domain Awareness Flight. Obstacles included broken ice coverage exceeding 90%, a recent cold snap covering recently open leads with slush, and a low stratus cloud layer. The crew on the flight deck has located a gap thin enough to penetrate, but large enough to hit, and the dropmasters are awaiting the command to "drop-drop-drop".

The AXIB buoy came up on the air reporting atmospheric pressure, air, and sea surface temperature via the ARGOS satellite system within a few hours of deployment.