World's Largest Unmanned Balloon Launched From Fort Churchill
AUGUST 5--The world's largest unmanned balloon was successfully launched from Fort Churchill at Manitoba, Canada. The flight was sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and NASA's Office of Space Science. The facilities of the Navy's Skyhook program were used for the launch. The entire flight train--balloon, an 800-pound instrument package, and a parachute--lifted to an altitude of 155,000 feet. As the balloon rose to float altitude it assumed a fully inflated form of 512 feet in diameter with a volume of 50.3 million cubic feet. The balloon traveled 500 miles west and was tracked by Project Skyhook's DC-3.
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