Two British daredevils hope to break the height record in a hot air balloon flight; For this purpose, they will use a ball whose height is equal to that of the Empire State Tower in New York; The flight will be broadcast live on the Internet
Yuval Dror, Haaretz
Two British adventurers are hoping to break the height record for a hot air balloon flight set 40 years ago. If they succeed in the mission, their flight will also be considered the first British space flight.
The two: 48-year-old Andy Elson and 51-year-old Colin Prescott want to reach a height of 132 feet (or 40.2 kilometers), with the help of a balloon whose height will equal the height of the Empire State Building in New York, about 390 meters - that is, 400 times more than a normal balloon .
The ball will take off in July 2002 from the deck of a British destroyer that will be located ahead of time in the middle of the sea, for a flight that lasts 12-8 hours, and will be equipped with a special rocket, which will help it reach the desired height. Elson and Prescott will be equipped with special pressure suits, which will help them withstand the difficult conditions. "There is no doubt that the systems that will help us meet the task will be extremely complex," Elson said.
If a malfunction is discovered that will require the abandonment of the balloon, the two will be forced to free-fall up to a height of 15 feet, and only when they reach this height will they be able to use special parachutes to reach the ground.
The two emphasize that beyond the competitive aspect of flying there is also a scientific aspect. According to them, since space exploration ended in the 60s, almost no research has been carried out in the upper layers of the stratosphere. Elson and Prescott intend to collect information on the amount of cosmic radiation present in these layers.
"This record is the last challenge"
Between the 20s and the 60s, the Americans and the Russians competed for the title of "the nation that managed to reach the highest altitude". The height struggle was part of the research that accompanied the space race, and its scientific goal was to refine the scientists' understanding of where the atmosphere ends and outer space begins.
In the end, the Americans won the title, after in 1961 Vic Parther and Malcolm Ross from the USA reached a height of 113,740 feet (or 34.6 kilometers) above sea level, with the help of a hot air balloon.
At an altitude of 132 feet, where the two Britons are trying to reach, conditions of existence that are considered impossible prevail: the temperature is minus 73 degrees, and the air pressure is 150 times lower than the pressure on the ground. On the other hand, from this height, the two will be able to watch the landscape that stretches over about a million square kilometers, "which will surely be amazing", as Elson said in an interview with "Wired" magazine. Elson added that they intend to use smoke bombs, so that the viewers from the ground can identify their position in the air. In addition , 800 meters below the balloon, a camera will be hung on a special arm, which will transmit live images from the journey. The images of the journey will be broadcast in real time on the Internet.
Elson and Prescott have extensive experience in ballooning. In 1999, the two attempted to circle the world in a hot air balloon, but failed because the Chinese government refused to allow them to travel in its airspace. "This record is the last challenge I want to conquer," explained Prescott, who is also the owner of one of the largest balloon operating companies in the world.
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