A gas balloon floats in the sky.
It is filled with light gas. This gas helps it rise up. It can stay up for a long time. You might see small party balloons. Do you like to look at the sky?
A gas balloon floats in the sky.
It is filled with a very light gas. This gas helps it rise up.
A man named Jacques Charles made the first one. It flew in a land called France. These balloons can stay up for a long time. They can even fly very far. Some are big like blimps. Some are small like party balloons.
They are fun to see in the air.
A gas balloon is a craft that floats in the air.
It works by using a gas that is lighter than air. This gas could be helium or hydrogen. Because the gas is light, it helps the balloon rise.
Jacques Charles was a man from France. He helped make the first gas balloon in 1783. Later that year, he and Nicolas-Louis Robert flew in one. These balloons can stay in the sky for a long time. They can also fly much further than hot-air balloons.
Pilots use weights to stay at the right height. If the balloon goes too low, they drop the weights. This is called ballast. To land, they let some gas out through a valve.
Some balloons go very high. In 2014, Alan Eustace used a helium balloon to rise high into the sky. He reached 135,889.108 feet. In 2015, two men flew a balloon named "Two Eagles." They flew 10,711 km from Japan to Mexico. They stayed in the air for 160 hours.
A gas balloon is a craft that floats in the air. It rises because it is filled with a gas lighter than air. Common gases used for this are helium or hydrogen.
These balloons can stay up for a long time. They also provide more lift than hot-air balloons. This means they do not need to be as huge. When they are not flying, people tether them to the ground. They also seal the bottom to keep the gas inside.
Flying a gas balloon involves a few special steps. To control height, pilots use ballast, which are weights. If the balloon gets too low, the pilot drops a weight. This helps the balloon rise again. To land the craft, the pilot lets some gas out through a valve.
Without engines or fuel, the pilot must use great skill. They must follow the wind to reach their destination.
People have been studying these balloons for a long time. In August 1783, the first gas balloon made a flight. A professor named Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers designed it.
On December 1, 1783, Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert flew a manned balloon. This happened ten days after the first hot-air balloon flight. Later, they built La Caroline, which was a steerable craft. It used a rudder and air cells called ballonnets.
Many amazing records have been set with these balloons. In 1784, a flight covered 186 km from Paris to Beuvry. In 2014, Alan Eustace reached a height of 135,889.108 feet. He launched from a runway in Roswell, New Mexico. His balloon was made in Hyderabad, India.
In 2015, the "Two Eagles" balloon flew 10,711 km. Two men flew from Japan to Mexico in 160 hours. This set a record for the longest distance and duration.
Gas balloons are used in many ways today. You might see small latex balloons at a party. Large blimps are also a type of gas balloon. Some companies, like Aerophile, use tethered balloons at theme parks. They carry 300,000 passengers every year in places like Disneyland Paris. Even space probes use them. In 1985, Soviet probes dropped helium balloons into the atmosphere of Venus. These balloons helped scientists learn about wind and air conditions.
A gas balloon is an aircraft that floats in the atmosphere. It rises because it is filled with a gas that is lighter than the surrounding air. Common lifting gases include helium or hydrogen.
Because these gases provide more lift for a specific volume, gas balloons do not need to be as large as hot-air balloons. They can also stay aloft for much longer periods. When not in flight, these balloons are usually tethered to the ground to prevent them from drifting away. The bottom is also sealed tightly to stop the lifting gas from escaping.
Pilots manage the flight of a gas balloon through specific mechanical processes. To control altitude, pilots use ballast, which are heavy weights. If the balloon begins to descend too low, the pilot drops ballast to make the craft rise. To land the balloon, the pilot must vent some of the lifting gas through a valve.
Because these balloons lack engines, heat, or fuel for propulsion, the pilot must rely entirely on skill. They must navigate by following the natural movement of the wind.
Early history shows how quickly gas balloon technology developed. In August 1783, Professor Jacques Charles and the Robert brothers launched the first gas balloon. It carried no passengers or cargo during that initial test. On December 1, 1783, Charles and Nicolas-Louis Robert performed the first manned flight using a hydrogen-filled balloon. This occurred just ten days after the first manned hot-air balloon flight. Later, the team built La Caroline, an elongated craft designed to be steerable. This craft used a rudder and internal air cells called ballonnets to help with control.
On September 19, 1784, the crew flew for 6 hours and 40 minutes. They covered 186 km, traveling from Paris to Beuvry, which was the first flight to exceed 100 km.
Throughout the 19th century, gas balloons were a major source of public fascination. Hobbyists and performers, such as the Blanchards, used them for shows. They were also used for observation during the Napoleonic Wars and the American Civil War. In the American Civil War, Thaddeus Lowe was a notable pilot. By the mid-20th century, the United States Navy used spherical free gas balloons to train crews for airships. Today, gas balloons remain part of daily life through small latex party balloons and large blimps. Some companies, like Aerophile, operate tethered balloons at theme parks. They carry about 300,000 passengers every year at locations like Disneyland Paris and San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
Humans have used gas balloons to reach extreme heights in the stratosphere. In 2012, Felix Baumgartner reached an altitude of 39.045 kilometers. Later, on October 24, 2014, Alan Eustace broke this record. He launched from an abandoned runway in Roswell, New Mexico. Using a helium balloon manufactured in Hyderabad, India, Eustace reached a maximum altitude of 135,889.108 feet. Unlike previous attempts, Eustace hung from the balloon in a pressure suit without a capsule. He used an explosive device to separate from the balloon to begin his descent.
Unmanned balloons have even reached higher into the atmosphere. In September 2013, a stratospheric balloon made by JAXA reached an altitude of 53.7 kilometers. This balloon had a volume of 80,000 m³. This remains the greatest height ever achieved by an atmospheric vehicle. Only rockets, rocket planes, and ballistic projectiles have flown higher than this unmanned balloon. These high-altitude flights help scientists study the upper layers of our atmosphere.
Gas balloons are also used for long-distance travel and space exploration. In 2015, pilots Leonid Tiukhtyaev and Troy Bradley flew the "Two Eagles" balloon from Japan to Mexico. They traveled 10,711 km in 160 hours and 33 minutes. This set the record for both the longest distance and the longest duration for a gas balloon. Beyond Earth, the Soviet Union used gas balloons to study other planets. In 1985, the Vega 1 and Vega 2 probes dropped helium balloons into the atmosphere of Venus. These balloons descended to 50 km and then inflated for level flight. They relayed data about wind and atmospheric conditions for 46 hours using electric batteries.
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