Going Farther and Higher

Balloons were soon flying over the ocean. Frenchman Jean – Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries flew across the English Channel in 1785. In 1793 Blanchard completed the first balloon flight in the United States, traveling from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Gloucester County, New Jersey.

Early balloonists learned to control flight upward or down­ward. By letting out air or gas, the balloonist could descend. Throwing out ballast (sand or lead weights) enabled the balloon (now lighter) to rise. The dis­advantage of a balloon is that it cannot be steered-it drifts with the wind. Sails, oars, and even paddlewheels were tried for steering, all without success.

Balloon flights became popular entertainment, but they also had serious uses. The U. S. Army’s Balloon Corps used balloons for observation during the Civil War (1861-1865). Balloonists made the first scientific researches into the upper atmosphere. In the 1930s, Auguste

Piccard, a Swiss scientist, rode in a sealed cabin beneath a hydrogen bal­loon. He rose more than 50,000 feet (15,240 meters). In 1935 American bal­loonists Albert W. Stevens and Orvil A. Anderson ascended to 72,395 feet (22,066 meters). This record remained unbroken until the 1960s, when other balloonists in the United States reached

over 100,000 feet (30,480 meters). Unmanned balloons have flown as high as 170,000 feet (51,816 meters).