The story
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Today it means: A miniature radio carried aloft (e.g. by an uncrewed balloon, an airdrop from a crewed aircraft, or a sounding rocket) to automatically transmit measurements of the upper air such as the wind speed, pressure, temperature, and relative humidity to a receiving station on the ground. Full definition →
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.