Balloon

A balloon is a flexible bag normally filled with air or gas. Some balloons are purely decorative, while others are used for specific purposes. Early balloons were made of dried animal bladders.

Records

Maximum flight heights

Manned Balloon

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The altitude record for manned ballons is 34668 metres. It was made in 1961 by Malcolm D. Ross and Victor E. Prather at their ascent over the Gulf of Mexico in 1961.

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Unmanned Balloon

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The altitude record for unmanned balloons is according to the 1991 edition of Guinness Book 51.8 kilometres. It was reached by a Winzen-Balloon with a volume of 1.35 million cubic metres, which was launched in October 1972 in Chico, California, USA. This is the greatest altitude ever reached by a flying object requiring the surrounding air. Higher altitudes can currently only be reached by ballistic vehicles such as rockets, rocket planes or projectiles.

Related Topics:
Rocket - Rocket plane - Projectile

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