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Space Science

Balloonists Attempt World Altitude Record 214

Posted by simoniker from the up-up-and-away dept.
ACey writes "BBC News is reporting on the latest attempt to break the balloon altitude world record. Qinetiq 1 is scheduled to launch tomorrow, 2nd September 2003, from the coast of Cornwall, UK, and aims to reach 132,000 feet or 25 miles in a flight that could last 12 hours. The balloon is so big (1,250 feet tall) that it should be visible from most of the UK, Ireland and Western France as it climbs. Good luck to them!"
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Balloonists Attempt World Altitude Record More

Balloonists Attempt World Altitude Record

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  • Obligatory (Score:2, Funny)

    by Malicious ( 567158 )
    This article is just a bunch of hot air.

    Note: I fully realize that to reach that altitude, they would have to use helium. Grow a sense of humor.

    • Actually, I didn't see it in the article, but I'll bet they use hydrogen for it's greater lift. When your going for that kind of record, you need every bit of lift you can get.
      • oops, second article says the do in fact use helium. I'm surpised. It's safer, but won't get them as much altitiude.
        • Um...sure it will. You can get every bit as much lift from helium as you can from hydrogen, just use a bigger envelope.

          • Um...sure it will. You can get every bit as much lift from helium as you can from hydrogen, just use a bigger envelope.

            Sometimes it's difficult to make an envelope that is sufficiently strong, has four times the volume, and doesn't weigh any more...

            • Sometimes it's difficult to make an envelope that is sufficiently strong, has four times the volume, and doesn't weigh any more...

              Better make that two times the volume: Hydrogen is diatomic, so the total atomic weight of the H2 molecule is 2. Helium is an atomic gas, with its atomic weight of 4.

              Round numbers, of course.

              Just a little bit more food for thought: the duterium isotope of hydrogen wieghs just as much as helium, in gas form.

              - Peter
  • A balloon the height of the Empire State Building!? Whoa!

  • Naturally.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Monday September 01, 2003 @03:29PM (#6845614) Homepage Journal

    The first transmission from the balloon will be "Can you hear me now? ... Good!"

  • xprize? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by mikeee ( 137160 ) on Monday September 01, 2003 @03:29PM (#6845622)
    Hm. If they could launch it again in a suitable time window, would this be eligable for the X-Prize?

  • Erm "Balloon" (Score:5, Funny)

    by CaffeineAddict2001 ( 518485 ) on Monday September 01, 2003 @03:31PM (#6845632)
    I knew if I wanted to conceal the departure of our ancient alien visitors I too would construct a 1,200 foot balloon and tell people it was trying to break an altitude record.

    This just prooves our alien overlords point - we deserve to get our brains eaten.
  • What is it with us Brits and balloons?
    Is it that Phileas Fogg thang?

    • Re:Brits and balloons. (Score:2, Informative)

      by hachete ( 473378 )
      http://www.cameronballoons.co.uk/index.cfm

      "The worlds' largest balloon maker"

      based in Bristol in the westcountry where they have one of the worlds' largest balloon festivals every year.

      h
  • People use units that arent derived from bodyparts or the lenght of 1000 steps....

  • You'll shoot your eye out kid! (Score:5, Funny)

    by niko9 ( 315647 ) on Monday September 01, 2003 @03:42PM (#6845671)
    Hate to break it youy bud, but I got my Daisy Brand Red-Ryder BB rifle, and your'e not going anywhere!

    Sorry to burst your bubble. ;)

  • SI Units (Score:5, Informative)

    by GoneGaryT ( 637267 ) on Monday September 01, 2003 @03:44PM (#6845682) Journal
    ...40,000 metres (40 kilometres) up in a balloon 381 metres tall...

  • Masochists, I tells ya. (Score:5, Funny)

    by JCCyC ( 179760 ) on Monday September 01, 2003 @03:44PM (#6845686) Journal
    See here [bbc.co.uk].

    Selected quote:
    "The two men will not eat during their mission, and they are hoping they will not have to go to the toilet either. A special fibre-free diet will begin three days before the trip in the hope that waste will be kept to a minimum."

    All I can say is -- Holy crap!

  • are they going to jump too? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by cdn-programmer ( 468978 ) <terr@nOspAm.terralogic.net> on Monday September 01, 2003 @03:46PM (#6845691)
    The manhigh project in the late 50's early 60's included a parachute jump from about 100,000 feet. This was about the height that the Challenger exploded and the jump shows that the crew of the Chalenger could have survived had the technology developed in the manhigh project been avilable to them.

    The guy who jumped reached a speed of over 700 miles per hour for part of the fall.
    • um, I think you mean Columbia, and they weren't going 12,000 MPH in the manhigh program were they?
    • The guy who jumped reached a speed of over 700 miles per hour for part of the fall.

      Thats interesting, since terminal velocity for a skydiver is supposed to be like about 120ish mph...

      not even a lead block would go 700Mph, I don't think. But EH, details.
    • They would have to solve the problem of slowing down the person from the re-entry speed of 30,000mph without burning up. The shuttle needs thousands of ceramic tiles to do this, I'd like to see the equivalent suit!

      Gareth
    • This was about the height that the Challenger exploded and the jump shows that the crew of the Chalenger could have survived had the technology developed in the manhigh project been avilable to them.

      I think you are ignoring maybe a few hundred engineering/technical difficulties involved in exiting a spacecraft. It's not like they had ejection seats. Also, from a flight controller's perspective there was little to no warning, at the time, that a catastrophic event was about to happen.

      Save the 'could have'
      • Supposedly the Challenger astronauts survived the explosion and may have been killed only when the mostly-intact crew cabin hit the Atlantic Ocean.
    • The original was Captain Joseph Kittinger [ejectionsite.com] who freefell for some 4.5 minutes. He had serious thrill issues.
    • Here is a quick rundown on the gist of the Kittinger/Excelsior story that should give you an overview... and more terms for googling the backgrounds:

      http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/coldwar/p e. htm
    • Well first of all I think the Columbia was closer to about 200,000 or even 300,000 ft. but more importantly they were moving at around Mach 17 when the ship broke up. Its not exactly the same thing.

  • balooning seems kewl (Score:3, Funny)

    by selderrr ( 523988 ) on Monday September 01, 2003 @03:50PM (#6845705) Journal
    after seeing hot grits like this [qinetiq1.com], I'm now convicing my wife that I should go high-altitude balooning asap. If only I could explain the mandatory difference in male and female costumes
  • sure, its available here [qinetiq1.com]

    but since that will get swamped, here's some cool details:

    British summer holds the key as QinetiQ 1 balloon pilots prepare to fly to the edge of space
    UK balloon pilots Andy Elson and Colin Prescot are now looking for an opportunity to launch their manned helium balloon, QinetiQ 1, on a clear calm day between end-July and mid-September 2003. In particular, the high winds of the jetstream need to be benign for a successful mission. The pilots aim to break the 40-year-old, US-held w

  • Hmm... (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Experimental balloon, launched from an experimental boat, wearing experimental space-suits, followed by an experimental spy-plane.

    Paid for by.... a large anonymous donation? ;)
  • World attitude records and unprecedented volumes of hot air. Sheesh. Enough is enough!

    Cleverly veiled as a science story though. Nice job, /. team.
  • Seriously, who still CARES about balloon records anymore? Isn't this this just a hobby for embarrasingly rich and bored, but not-quite-old-enough-to-call-it-quits-yet retirees?

    I mean, is there some sort of practical application for a helium balloon larger than the frickin' Empire State Building? Please, enlighten me.

    • Re:Balloons?! Still?! Again?! etc. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by rokzy ( 687636 ) on Monday September 01, 2003 @04:32PM (#6845893)
      http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/sci_nat/03/b allooning/html/glider.stm

      "The technology behind Zephyr could be used as a communications platform for mobile phones in remote areas, or disaster zones, or even by the military for surveillance."

      happy...?
      • "happy...?"

        O jesus. There's always ONE isn't there? Just because this giant ballon could be used by the military for surveillance does not mean the men in black are coming to get you. I'm as much of a privacy nut as the next guy, but for god sake.....I swear, if a story were posted dogs and how they have such a good sense of smell and the military uses them for surveillance, you would post something similar and build a cave out of tinfoil so they can't reach you.

        I'm not trolling, but for god sake....loo

        • maybe you should actually read the thread, retard. the original poster was whinging there was no use for this so I pointed out one of the uses you'd see if you actually RTFA.

          nobody mentioned men in black or privacy but you. I don't know what your problem is but I suspect medication would be a good idea.
      • "The technology behind Zephyr could be used as a communications platform for mobile phones in remote areas, or disaster zones, or even by the military for surveillance."
        Zephyr is the little glider/solar powered plane (which is it, BTW?) that will take pictures of the balloon.

        Strike one. Got any other ideas how a balloon is useful?

  • Think of the wardriving opportunities (Score:3, Funny)

    by G4from128k ( 686170 ) on Monday September 01, 2003 @04:09PM (#6845792)
    With a good high-gain antenna, they should be able to access wireless LANs for quite a distance. Were I in the vicinty, I would be honored to have them posting their progress through my network.
    • " With a good high-gain antenna, they should be able to access wireless LANs for quite a distance. Were I in the vicinty, I would be honored to have them posting their progress through my network."

      That wouldn't be good. You would post your story to Slashdot where we will somehow manage to Slashdot their balloon and it will plummet in a giant ball of fire. And then we'll have another story posted the next day about SCO and all will be forgotten.

  • The two men will not eat during their mission, and they are hoping they will not have to go to the toilet either. A special fibre-free diet will begin three days before the trip in the hope that waste will be kept to a minimum.
    No wonder these guys look constipated...

  • If these balloons get any bigger... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Esion Modnar ( 632431 ) on Monday September 01, 2003 @04:13PM (#6845815)
    ...they'll achieve altitude records without even leaving the ground.
  • If, hypothetically, a balloon were to ascend to the height of a geostationary orbit (36,000 miles?) would it stay there? Presumably it would have to be launched from the equator... (discounting the fact that a balloon couldn't possibly get that high because there's no damn air)
    • nope... satellites at any orbit have two elements that are needed, a balloon only has one. Height is the first, but you also have to get that balloon up to 21000 mph or so... But.... assuming you didn't need a true geo sat (stationary), yes it could 'float' at the altitude if you could get up there.
  • I write this letter to you balloon pilots in hopes that when you are up there you will do me a favor.

    About a week ago I tied lil Sparky, our family Chiwwawwawa, to about ten helium balloons to see if they could lift him off the ground. Needless to say, it did. After ten minutes of riding my Green Machine through town following poor old Sparks I lost sight of him some where near the Rockies.

    So, if you happen to see Sparky some where up there in the great wild blue yonder during your travels will you fetch

  • History&Freefall (Score:5, Interesting)

    by the_pooh_experience ( 596177 ) on Monday September 01, 2003 @04:20PM (#6845843)

    Acording to NOVA [pbs.org], the standing record is 113,739.9 ft (~ 35 km) was set in 1961. Back then however these people were pretty hardcore, as it was too technical to pilot the balloons back down, they would jump (with a parachute).

    My grandfather and his brother were some of the balooning pioneers in the US, and I actually had the oppertunity (when I was much younger) to acompany my grandfater taken up in a balloon by Joe Kittinger (first altitude record of ~100,000 ft and the longest freefall to date-where he actually broke the sound-barrier unaided by propultion other than gravity). We didn't go to 100 kft but even back then (I think I may have been about 7) it was quite an experience.

    • Re:History&Freefall (Score:3, Informative)

      by henrygb ( 668225 )
      it was too technical to pilot the balloons back down, they would jump (with a parachute).

      This was also true of Yuri Garagin in Vostock 1, who having orbited in 1961 at up to about 320 km (200 miles), ejected on the way down at about 7 km (23,000 feet). All by design.

  • scary part... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by rokzy ( 687636 ) on Monday September 01, 2003 @04:23PM (#6845852)
    "Should the suits fail at 35,000 feet (10,668 metres) Andy and Colin would lose consciousness. At 80,000 feet (24,384 metres) the pilots would die within a matter of seconds, as the low pressure would make their blood boil almost immediately."

    ow...
    • There has been a loss of pressure accident once in the Russian Space program (Soyuz 11). A valve stuck open and the cabin air was lost and the cosmonauts died. It seems they took many seconds to die (about half a minute) and it was just plain hypoxia that killed them - no boiling blood or whatever, that happened later after several minutes.

      It seems that AC Clark got things about right in "2001" when Dave Bowman goes from the pod into the emergency airlock the hard way. You can read more about it here [sff.net].


    • "Should the suits fail at 35,000 feet (10,668 metres) Andy and Colin would lose consciousness. At 80,000 feet (24,384 metres) the pilots would die within a matter of seconds, as the low pressure would make their blood boil almost immediately."

      All this gory talk makes good copy, but it ain't necessarily so: You would lose fluids as vapour from your airways, but this would be gradual. Images of blood boiling in your tortured veins is simply alarmist. Your blood pressure is high enough, and your veinous s
  • The article says something like "It is hoped that [the tethered aircraft] will return to earth". It would be far more interesting if it didn't.
  • I was part of the slashdot crowd that visited and saw the counter... but now it's on hold!

    Those crazy bastards! I know what they saw about a tear not having serious effects but having this big balloon streak across europe as it deflates is kinda a freaky mental image! (pbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbt there goes the balloon)
  • I think the glider that will photograph the balloon [bbc.co.uk] is just as interesting as the balloon. 40 ft wingspan, 30 pound weight (that's about 13 m, 13.6 kg for you SI fans - and why is the BBC using non-SI units?).

    And I loved this quote:

    It is hoped Zephyr will return to Earth, although it is unlikely it will be recovered intact.

    Where else would it return to?

  • > The balloon is so big (1,250 feet tall) that it
    > should be visible from most of the UK, Ireland and
    > Western France as it climbs.

    Does anyone else find that overly optimistic? I'm thinking purely about the weather...

    "Is it always foggy in Britain?"
    "No, only when it isn't raining"
  • The launch of the balloon has been delayed until Wednesday due to the weather. They reckoned that they could have launched tomorrow, but that the weather on Wednesday will be perfect so they'd rather wait a day. Apparently tomorrow will be spent taking an astronaut refresher course with the Russian advisers.

    More at: UK balloon bid put back [bbc.co.uk]
  • "What is this, 1850? I hope they land in a sewage treatment plant and sink with the rest of the turds." -- George Carlin
  • Will the 132,000 ft. be at the top or the bottom of the 1250 foot high ballon?

    So I didn't read the article. Sue me. After all, SCO and the RIAA will one of these days, so beat the rush!
  • read the actual site and not the news article for an update.

  • Launch On Hold (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jea6 ( 117959 ) on Tuesday September 02, 2003 @01:33AM (#6848146)
    In case anybody is reading this far, the launch is on hold until 3-9 due to inclement weather.

    "Conditions were not suitable for the launch. All being well, it will happen as planned on Wednesday morning," said the spokesman.
  • that we have this seedy looking gray cloud clover over the whole country for the last few weeks. Can't see a building 1km away.

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