''QinetiQ 1'' was a
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 ...
designed to set a new world altitude record for manned balloon flight of around 40 km (25 miles, 132,000 feet). The balloon was named after the main sponsors,
QinetiQ (formerly part of DERA, the British
Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) was a part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) between 1995 and 2 July 2001. At the time it was the United Kingdom's largest science and technology organisation. It was regarded by its official hi ...
).
The immense 381 m high zero-pressure balloon was constructed from 5,000 kg of
polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...
. The lift gas used for the balloon was
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. ...
. At the anticipated flight ceiling, the balloon's volume would have been 1.25 million m³ (40 million ft³). The two pilots, Andy Elson and Colin Prescot, were to occupy an open deck, relying on
Zvezda-manufactured
Sokol space suit
The Sokol space suit, also known as the Sokol IVA suit or simply the Sokol (russian: Cокол, , Falcon), is a type of Soviet/Russian space suit, worn by all who fly on the Soyuz spacecraft. It was introduced in 1973 and is still used . The Sokol ...
s to keep them alive during the anticipated twelve-hour flight.
The attempt was originally planned for 2002, but adverse high altitude conditions halted attempts in that year. The launch site for the twelve-hour flight was decided to be from off the coast of
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
.
In 2003 the launch was initially set to take place on 2 September from the deck of
RV Triton
The Research Vessel ''Triton'' is a trimaran vessel owned by Gardline Marine Sciences Limited and a former prototype British warship demonstrator for the UK's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (later QinetiQ). She was built as a technolo ...
off the coast of
St Ives. Early that morning, it was decided to postpone the launch for 24 hours due to cloud cover at high altitude. The following morning an attempt was made to inflate the balloon. At around 6.55
AM with the balloon inflated to a height of 15 metres, helium began to escape from the envelope. An irreparable tear was discovered along one of the seams of the balloon, and all efforts for a flight in 2003 were abandoned.
Other record attempts
The current balloon flight record was set by
Malcolm Ross (
USNR) and
Victor Prather
Lieutenant commander (United States), Lieutenant Commander Victor Alonzo Prather Jr. (June 4, 1926 – May 4, 1961) was an American flight surgeon famous for taking part in "Project RAM", a government project to develop the space suit. On May 4 ...
(
USN
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
), who took the
''Strato-Lab V'' balloon to 34,668 m (113,740 ft) on 4 May 1961 above the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
. The balloonists landed successfully, but Victor Prather slipped from the helicopter lift harness while being transferred to a waiting aircraft carrier, and he drowned before
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
divers could rescue him.
Nicholas Piantanida, while attempting to set a new skydiving jump record, is claimed to have reached 123,800 feet (37.73 km) on 2 February 1966. Piantanida was unable to disconnect his breathing apparatus from the gondola, so the ground crew jettisoned the balloon at the flight ceiling. Piantanida's attempt did not set a flight record because he descended without the balloon.
[See excerpts from Craig Ryan's description of Piantanida's flight and harrowing descent: ]
Notes
References
*''The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space'', by Craig Ryan, US Naval Institute Press, 1995,
{{Qinetiq
Individual balloons (aircraft)
1