Weather Not Favorable for March17th Launch; Balloon Fleet on “Standby” Again!
Organizers of “The Datum RPO World Record Cross Channel Flight,” which has one hundred balloon pilots taking part to cross the English Channel, have postponed the launch that was scheduled for Friday, March 17th. Surface wind speeds that could go as high as 19 knots at launch time would not be conducive to a take-off […]
Balloon Fleet for English Channel Crossing on Amber Alert
About hundred hot air balloon pilots are getting ready for a mass crossing of the English Channel this Friday, if the weather cooperates. Datum RPO, who are backing the project and will lead the fleet, have updated the status from “standby” (since March 5th) to an “Amber Alert” for Friday morning, March 17th. The 100-strong […]
Konyukhov Plans for High-Altitude Record Attempt
Russian explorer and balloonist Fedor Konyukhov who set a new world record flying solo around the world, last July, is preparing for another adventure — a hot air balloon ascension to the stratosphere. High-Altitude Envelope Courtesy of Cameron Balloons Cameron Balloons, manufacturer of the three balloons used by aeronauts for their successful round-the-world flight, including […]
A Recreational Flight to Space in a Modern Balloon?
Ready for the thrill and challenge of a journey to the edge of space? All you need is $75,000 to reserve a seat and a mindset to float up to 100,000 feet under a balloon and enjoy the spectacular views. Among other magnificent panoramas, these vistas include the blackness of space, the starscape above, the […]
Voliris Plans to Bring Airships to the Desert
France-based Voliris has been experimenting with airships since 2001, and in 2008, the company began an R&D program to develop hybrid airships. After numerous prototypes and attempts, the company achieved the proof of concept with the V902RC hybrid airship, which also showed success with piloted test flights. In doing so, the company landed in the […]
Experts See Red Flags in Amazon’s Patent for Floating Warehouses
Amazon is known for creating ambitious and industry-changing ideas—just consider the Kindle, Amazon Go, and its wind and solar farms—and now the company is looking to take a concept to new heights, literally. Few technical and legal questions to be solved for Amazon’s patent to become a reality A patent filed by Amazon Technologies, Inc., […]
Arctic Air: Andrée’s Balloon Flight to North Pole | New Exhibition at Balloon Museum
Source: City of Albuquerque ALBUQUERQUE, NM – When the bold balloon flight of S.A. Andrée began on July 11, 1897, no one had yet reached the North Pole. There had been other attempts, all unsuccessful, but this expedition intended to fly there by balloon from Danes Island, an icy outpost at nearly the top of […]
Solar Ship Challenges Lockheed Martin to a Race Across Northern Canada and Africa
Earlier this week, Solar Ship announced it is challenging Lockheed Martin to a race between its solar powered Wolverine aircraft and Lockheed Martin’s hybrid airship. Solar Ship; Credit: Solar Ship The purpose of the challenge is to promote the benefits of hybrid aircraft which use two forms of lift: buoyancy like an airship and dynamic lift […]
Pilot of Deadliest Balloon Crash in US History Knew About Bad Weather; Eight Prescription Drugs Found in System
Washington, DC – The pilot of the hot air balloon that crashed in Lockhart, Texas, on July 30, had taken several prescription drugs that would slow reflexes and impair judgment, said experts who testified at the National Transportation Safety Board hearing on Friday, December 9. At the investigative hearing, officials examined the circumstances of the […]
NASA Launches Giant Scientific Balloons in Antarctica
The Boron And Carbon Cosmic rays in the Upper Stratosphere (BACCUS) payload takes flight Nov. 28. Credit: NASA NASA launched its large zero-pressure balloon on November 28 with instruments and payload that will observe cosmic rays and chemicals and atoms that make up the interstellar space between stars. The balloon—as large as a football stadium […]
