Imperial Valley press., 1931-05-29
SUCCESS
PLEASES
PICARD
Professor Planning Other
Trips To High Areas
In Future.
MAKES PROPHECY
Scientist Asserts Planes
Will Eventually Use Up
per Traffic Lanes.

GURGL, Austria. A4a, =, up
Prof. Auguste Picard. tleted at
the success of his fliFh to an al
titude higher than man had ever
ascended, planned today to make
other excursions into the upper air
in the interests of science.
He and his companion, Charles
Kipfer, refreshed by a sound nights
sleep-their' first in 48 hours-were
ready to climb back to the glacier
high in the Austrian Alps, to recov-
er the balloon in which they scared
$500 feet into the stratosphere.
They had broken all altitude rec
ords by more than two miles In
their 10-mile ascent, but Picard,
professor in the University of Brus-
sells was more interested in the
scientific value of the daring ex-
pedition than the fact he had
gained world fame as balloonist.
Piccard's enthusiasm in summing
up the scientific gains of the flight
led him to predict that it had
proved the stratosphere or rare up
per air strata. were navigable, and
that life could exist 10 miles above
the earth.
He aroused the imagination with
his prophecies, hitting at airways
filled with new types of flying ma
chimes racing at tremendous speed
about the earth.
THE flight proved that the STRAIT
l. ~
asserted. 1T proved also that an
aviator with his modern technical
methods will be able to master the
problems of pressure and cold at
high attitudes.
Il am convinced that my studies
will make life in the stratospherc
possible in future I am glad that
1 helped to inaugurate this new
idea of aerial transportation.
hope that Others will now attempt
similar flights to break my record"
Conducted Experiments
Picard told newspapermen. he
had conducted highly successful
experiments between $4,000 and
10000 meters (about $4,000 to 52,-
40 feet) He said in testing the
increase in conductivity of the gases
in cosmic rays, he had found the
conductivity comparatively high
This is one of Prof Albert Elm
STEMS theories. long disputed. and
about which there still remains
some doubt.
It never doubted the success of
the enterprise" Picard said, "be-
cause everything was minutely or
ganized in advance. It was very
cold and we suffered some hard
ships above 10000 feet. The baro-
graph kept rising and at one time
l thought we would never stop as
cending.
For a moment" he added, II felt
we were between life and death.
When we were a little above 10000
meters (about $500 feeD the bal
loon stopped and then began des-
cending slowly. 1t finally dropped
to 1000 meters (about 13,100 feeD
in little more than an hour. At that
altitude we halted in our descent
without apparent cause. 1t prob
ably was due to the warmer tenn
perature, expanding the gas.
After sunset the cooler air en-
abled us to continue the descent.
but we we're faced with the danger
Of winds forcing us against the
mountainSides, which might have
proved disastrous. OF course. VIC
were lucky to land on the glacier
and not far from habitation."
Picard said the landing at IL p.
m. Wednesday night was made
easily and that no damage had
been done to the balloon. 1t will
be transferred from the glacier to
inst by truck and thence to train
by Augsburg, Bavaria, starting
point.