The Indianapolis times., 1935-11-11
HUGE BALLOON
SCARS 74,187
FEET, RECORD
Army Bag Climbs High Into
StratoSphere on Third
Attempt.
OLD MARK WAS 61,237
Two Pilots Report Weather
Conditions on DARING
Trip Into Skies.
BIZ UnitCd Prose

By UnitCd Prose
RAPID CITY, S. D., Nov IL
The stratosphere balloon, Explorer
II, appearing over the north Ne
braska plains as tiny speck, set a
new worlds record in altitude to-
day
Shortly before noon Capt. Albert
w. Stevens, flight commander and
technical observer, reported that the
giant balloon had reached an alti-
tude OF $1,000 feet.
The official worlds record is 61,-
237 feet, although a Russian balloon
in 1884 ascended 10000 feet The
crew was killed, however, in a
crash.
At 1l:55 a. m. the Explorer II had
reached an altitude of 72,000 feet,
almost cqualing the unofficial mark
Of the Soviet balloonists
Drifts Into Nebraska
The huge helium- inflated bag
drifted leisurely into Nebraska at
II a. m. Observers on the ground
at Valentine, Neb, reported it was
moving very slowly in a south
easterly direction.
Capt. Stevens and Capt. Orval A.
Anderson, the pilot, had started the
ascent at 80l a. m. from the shell
tered cliff faced bowl in the Black
Hills region southwest of here.
It was their third assault on the
altitude record. The first attempt
last year ended in a crash near
Holdredge, Neb and about 200 miles
southeast of the point where the
new record was set today. Earlier
this autumn the second attempt
ended when the canvas ripped at
the takeoff, debating the bag.
rs Below Zero Outside
Capt. Stevens reported to Wash
ington by radio to sponsors of the
fight the National Geographic So
ciety and the Army, that when the
official worlds record was bettered
the temperature inside the metal
gondola was 81 degrees Fahrenheit
above zero. Outside the gondola
the mercury had dropped to 76 de-
erees below zero.
The windows of the gondola are
frosty and we have to wipe them
Off Capt. Stevens radioed. The
bag is now IS per cent full and we
are going up"
This report was made at 1927
a. m.
AT 1910, Explorer II had attained
a height of $4,000 eet. Capt. Ste
venS reported, almost IS miles.
Bag Scarcely Visible
Capt Stevens, congratulated over
his short wave radio set, on setting
the new record, replied:
Yep, that's right
Inside the metal gondola the air
men were kept alive by oxygen tanks.
Outside the void was blue black.
From the ground, the ballon scarce
Shortly after noon the balloon
seemed to change its direction. The
drift at that time appeared to be in
a westward direction. Weather OBJ
servers at Valentine predicted it
would land southwest of Valentine,
perhaps in the western Nebraska
panhandle, eastern Wyoming or
northeastern Colorado.
Still Going Up
At 1920 Capt. Stevens reported
the altitude as $4,000 feet. The sky
was a dark purple overhead and
black at one horizon and dark blue
toward the other.
While the record breaking ascen-
sion progressed Capt. Stevens calm
ly read recordings from cosmic ray
instrument to DR.. W. F. G. Swami.
director OF the Bjrtol Research
Foundation of Franklin Institute.
DR.. Swami was in New York broad
casting TO the balloon by short wave
radio.
The airmen showed no DISPOSE
ton to check their ascension and
at 1925 Explorer II had reached
74,l67 feet.