The first successful nonstop balloon flight around the world was completed TODAY March 20 in 1999.
Piloted by Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard, the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon became the first balloon flight to complete it’s mission to fly nonstop around the world on Saturday, March 20, 1999.
Todays information was found at this terrific EXPLORING EARTH site
https://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/navigation/home.cfm
Check out the details of this historic flight by clicking on the balloon picture below.
© Breitling
“Around-the-world ballooning is a sophisticated enterprise. It uses specially designed balloons that are nearly ten stories tall, high-tech gondolas for the crew and flight equipment, and numerous experts on the ground at mission control.”
This is very interesting Stuff! HOW do you think the pilots steer these huge balloons?
“Balloons are carried by the wind, so pilots have no direct control over their speed and direction. To steer, the pilot moves the balloon up or down in altitude to catch winds with the desired speed and direction.” Click on the picture below to see how
“An understanding of global wind patterns, particularly the jet stream, is critical for around-the-world balloon flight.”
If you really want to understand and learn more about how winds determine flight patterns and so much more check out :
SALTY, NOAA’s bird on the links to the right or click on his picture here:
NOAA stands for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.