''Breitling Orbiter'' was the name of three different
Rozière balloon
A Rozière balloon (or simply Rozière) is a type of hybrid balloon that has separate chambers for a non-heated lifting gas (such as hydrogen or helium) as well as for a heated lifting gas (as used in a hot air balloon or Montgolfière). The design ...
s made by the
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
based balloon manufacturer
Cameron Balloons
Cameron Balloons is a company established in 1971 in Bristol, England, by Don Cameron to manufacture hot air balloons. Cameron had previously, with others, constructed ten hot air balloons under the name Omega. Production was in the basemen ...
to
circumnavigate
Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth.
The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magel ...
the globe, named after the Swiss watchmakers
Breitling. The third was successful in March 1999 of making the first nonstop flight around the world by balloon. It was piloted by
Bertrand Piccard
Bertrand Piccard FRSGS (born 1 March 1958) is a Swiss explorer, psychiatrist and environmentalist. Along with Brian Jones, he was the first to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the globe, in a balloon named Breitling Orbiter 3. He was t ...
and
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...
.
''Breitling Orbiter 3''
''Breitling Orbiter 3'' was the first
balloon
A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...
to fly around the world non-stop, piloted by
Bertrand Piccard
Bertrand Piccard FRSGS (born 1 March 1958) is a Swiss explorer, psychiatrist and environmentalist. Along with Brian Jones, he was the first to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the globe, in a balloon named Breitling Orbiter 3. He was t ...
and
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...
. Designed and built by
Cameron Balloons
Cameron Balloons is a company established in 1971 in Bristol, England, by Don Cameron to manufacture hot air balloons. Cameron had previously, with others, constructed ten hot air balloons under the name Omega. Production was in the basemen ...
, of
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, ''Breitling Orbiter 3'' stood 180 ft (55 m) tall when inflated completely. The propane gas that fueled its six burners was contained in 28 titanium cylinders mounted in two rows along the sides of the gondola. Concerned about fuel consumption, the team added four additional propane containers prior to launch; these additions proved necessary to complete the trip. The Breitling Orbiter 3 held the record for the longest distance un-refuelled flight () of any aircraft in aviation history until the 2006 flight of the
Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
The Scaled Composites Model 311 Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer ( registered N277SF) is an aircraft designed by Burt Rutan in which Steve Fossett first flew a solo nonstop airplane flight around the world in slightly more than 67 hours (2 days 19 h ...
. It still holds the record for the longest duration un-refuelled flight (19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes).
[ ]
The gondola is on display in the
Udvar-Hazy Center
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous e ...
at the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
at Dulles Airport outside Washington, D.C. A model of the Orbiter 3 constructed with a spare Orbiter 2 envelope was exhibited at
Gasometer Oberhausen
The Gasometer Oberhausen is a former gas holder in Oberhausen, Germany, which has been converted into an exhibition space. It has hosted several large scale exhibitions, including two by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The Gasometer is an industrial lan ...
from 2004 to 2006.
Balloon
The ''Breitling Orbiter 3'' was a
Cameron
Cameron may refer to:
People
* Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan
* Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
;Mononym
* Cam'ron (born 197 ...
R-650
Rozière balloon
A Rozière balloon (or simply Rozière) is a type of hybrid balloon that has separate chambers for a non-heated lifting gas (such as hydrogen or helium) as well as for a heated lifting gas (as used in a hot air balloon or Montgolfière). The design ...
, which combines the features of a
hot-air balloon
A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries p ...
and a
gas balloon
A gas balloon is a balloon that rises and floats in the air because it is filled with a gas lighter than air (such as helium or hydrogen). When not in flight, it is tethered to prevent it from flying away and is sealed at the bottom to prevent t ...
, with a
helium
Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...
cell within a hot-air envelope. Initially, the helium cell is filled to approximately 47% of its maximum capacity. During ascent, warming by the sun causes the helium to expand even more than the surrounding air, which aids the balloon in gaining altitude (unlike the expansion caused by the drop in atmospheric pressure, which can even hinder that until the air and helium temperatures equalize).
Gondola
The ''Breitling Orbiter 3'' gondola was constructed of a weave of
Kevlar
Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...
and
carbon fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
material. After launching, the cabin was sealed at 6,000 ft (1,800 m) to trap the air within it. During the flight the cabin atmosphere was supplemented by
nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
and
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
;
carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
was removed by
lithium hydroxide
Lithium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula LiOH. It can exist as anhydrous or hydrated, and both forms are white hygroscopic solids. They are soluble in water and slightly soluble in ethanol. Both are available commercially. While ...
filters. Cabin pressure was maintained at around by adding oxygen and nitrogen to the cabin air as necessary. At 33,000 ft (10,000 m), the
cabin pressure
Cabin pressurization is a process in which conditioned air is pumped into the cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for passengers and crew flying at high altitudes. For aircraft, this air is ...
equaled
atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...
at 10,000 ft (3,000 m).
Solar panel
A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...
s suspended beneath the gondola recharged the on-board lead-acid batteries that provided electrical power. Satellite-based systems enabled the crew to navigate via
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
as well as communicate.
Flight
Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones launched from the
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
village of
Château-d'Oex at 8:05, GMT, March 1, 1999. They traveled southwest over the Mediterranean and then swung east over
Mauritania
Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
on March 2 at a starting meridian of 9 degrees, 12 minutes west. They landed in the
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian desert after being aloft 19 days, 21 hours, and 55 minutes on March 21, 1999, having traveled a distance of 25,361 mi (40,814 km). During the course of the flight, the balloon had climbed to altitudes of up to 38,507 ft (11,737 m), and achieved speeds up to 123
knot
A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...
s. The official "finish line" of the circumnavigation occurred over Mauritania at 4:54 AM, EST on March 19. The goal of ending in Egypt had been to touch down near the
Great Pyramids
The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...
; however, high winds forced the pilots to land short of their target about 80 kilometers north of
Mut
Mut, also known as Maut and Mout, was a mother goddess worshipped in ancient Egypt and the Kingdom of Kush in present-day North Sudan. In Meroitic, her name was pronounced mata): 𐦨𐦴. Her name means ''mother'' in the ancient Egyptian la ...
. Aboard, they carried a copy of
Guy de Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...
's ''A Life'', which had been inscribed by Maupassant to
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
, who had imagined such a flight in his novel, ''Five Weeks in a Balloon''. The book had been loaned to the pilots to carry for good luck by a grandson of Jules Verne from the novelist's personal library.
[Associated Press, "'Grandiose' Trip Ends: Balloonists tough down in Egyptian desert", March 22, 1999, ]
Jones noted Piccard's
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
news conference remarks: "We took off as friends and landed as brothers."
The daily routine was for each man to spend eight hours alone at the controls, eight hours working with his crewmate, and eight hours in the single
bunk. A unique pressure-operated
toilet
A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popu ...
was included in a curtained off area at the rear of the craft. Despite the use of heaters designed to maintain a cabin temperature of , temperatures occasionally decreased so much at night that drinking water froze and ice had to be chipped away from delicate electronic circuitry on the interior walls.
When asked by reporter Howard Schneider about the fate of ''Breitling Orbiter 3'', the project manager Alan Noble remarked that the sponsors and the team "...would probably donate the craft to a museum. Possibly the National Air and Space Museum or the Smithsonian."
[Howard Schneider, "Earthbound but on Cloud Nine", '']The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', March 22, 1999, And indeed the gondola was located for several years on the ground floor of the National Air and Space Museum in the Milestones of Flight Gallery, next to the
Wright Brothers 1903 ''Flyer'',
Charles Lindbergh's ''
Spirit of St. Louis
The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlant ...
'', the
Mercury ''Friendship 7'' capsule, the
''Gemini IV'' capsule, the
Apollo 11 command module, and ''
Space Ship One
SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" at ...
''.
The gondola is now displayed at the Udvar-Hazy Center of the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
, Dulles Airport outside Washington D.C.
See also
* ''
Solar Impulse
Solar Impulse is a Swiss long-range experimental solar-powered aircraft project, and also the name of the project's two operational aircraft. The privately financed project is led by Swiss engineer and businessman André Borschberg and Swiss p ...
''
*
List of circumnavigations
This is a list of circumnavigations of Earth. Sections are ordered by ascending date of completion.
Global
Nautical
16th century
* The 18 survivors, led by Juan Sebastián Elcano, of Ferdinand Magellan's Magellan's circumnavigation, Spanish ...
*
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, Breitling Orbiter 3
Brian Jones' personal website for the orbiter projectBBC NEWS: Life inside ''Breitling Orbiter 3''National Air and Space Museum page for the orbiter
Individual balloons (aircraft)
Breitling SA