High-altitude ballooning has long pushed the boundaries of science. Early scientists initially struggled to produce enough hydrogen to lift their balloons: where hot air balloons take advantage of the fact that hotter gases are less dense, high-altitude balloons use lighter-than-air gases like helium or hydrogen. In 1738, Jacques Charles came up with a solution. By dissolving huge amounts of iron in sulphuric acid, he produced over a thousand cubic feet of hydrogen, filling his balloon over the course of five days. 300,000 people watched it launch from Paris. After flying for 45 minutes, it landed just outside the city.
Driven as much by a desire to explore as by science, early aeronauts soon used hydrogen balloons to set human altitude records — and occasionally died doing it. Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, the first person ever to fly, perished attempting to cross the English Channel in a hydrogen balloon. In 1803, Count Zambeccari, Dr. Grassati, and Sr. Andreoli nearly froze to death, and Zambeccari later lost the fingers of one hand to frostbite. In the process, they set a new record with an estimated altitude of 25,000 feet.
Balloons grew dramatically in size. By 1934, the US Air Force’s experimental balloon project used over three million cubic feet of hydrogen. The Explorer I lifted three Army Air Corps officers in an attempt to set a new record, but burst at only 5,000 feet, catching aflame, and forcing the pilots to parachute back down. This is one reason why the kits we provide use helium, which is non-flammable and completely safe. With the Explorer II, the Air Force switched to helium as well. This time they were successful: Air Corps Captain Albert Stevens and First Lieutenant Orvil Anderson flew to a record 72,400 feet.
Altitude records rose and rose. Highlights included Joseph Kittinger’s jump from 102,800 feet in 1960 and Alan Eustace parachuting from 136,000 feet in 2014. High-altitude balloons also came into their own as scientific instruments. Because balloons fly above 95% of the atmosphere, they make excellent platforms for space telescopes. NASA and others launched hundreds of missions, detecting cosmic rays, measuring the ice sheets, and conducting infrared interferometry. Today, through low-cost kits, science and high-altitude ballooning is open to everybody.
