OCR Text |
Show Former Springville Man, Pilot; Help Set New World's Record RAPID CITY, S. D., Xov. 11 (U.P.) Explorer II, the stratosphere balloon, today carried two intrepid army fliers to a point higher than man ever has reached before. Within five hours alter its take-off from the Granite bowl southwest of here, Explorer II attained an altitude of 74,187 feet, a new unofficial world's record for altitude. airmen wero kept alive by oxyffrn tanks. Ouisiilo the void w.-is 1)1"'' black.. Fi'um the ground it was scarcely visible. Shortly alter noon the balloon seemed to change its direction, the United Press correspondent at Valentine, Neb., reported. The drift at that time appeared to be in a westward direction. Weather ob-ixrvcrs ob-ixrvcrs at Valentine predicted it would land southwest of Valentine ! perhaps in the west Nebraska l'an-I l'an-I handle, eastern V yommg or north-! north-! eastern Colorado. 1 While the record breaking as-j as-j cension progressed Captain Stev-! Stev-! ens calmly read recordings from ! a cosmic ray instrument to Dr. j W. F. G. Swann, director of the Bartol Research 'Ymndation of ! Franklin Institute. Dr. Swann was in New York broadcasting to the balloon by short wave radio. Expect Favorable Landing The official world's record was withiti the grasp of Cap- j tain Albert YV. Stevens, flight commander, and Captain Orval A. Anderson, the pilot, when at 1 :05 p. m., C.S.T., they began a leisurely descent. The airmen must land the balloon safely and the barograph must be checked by the National Aeronau- i tical association before the official recognition is given. t The descent, Captain Stevens estimated, would require . about three hours, and conditions were favorable for a safe landing some place in the northern Nebraska sandhills or mq.1i- the RncohnH Tnrlian reservation ill South Dakota. Shortly before noon Capt. Albert i V. Stevens, flight commander and Lechincal observer, reported that the giant balloon had reached an altitude of 67.000 feet. Kussian Crew Killed The official world's record is G1.237 , feet although a Russian balloon in 1934 ascended 72.200 feet. The crew were killed, however how-ever in a crash. At 11:55 a. m. CST the Explorer - II had reached an altitude ol 72,000 feet, almost equalling the unofficial mark of the Soviet balloonists. The huge helium inflated bag drifted leisurely into Nebraska at 11 a. m. obseivers on the ground at Valentine, Neb., reported is was moving very slowly in a southeasterly south-easterly direction. Cant. Stevens and Cant. Ander- h e mercury had d ro p p ed to 76; degrees below zero. j Windows Frosty ! "The windows of the gondola are frosty. and ve have to wipe ' them off," Captain Stevens re- ; ported by radio. "The bag is now ; S5 per cent full and we arc now going up." 1 This report was made- at 11:27 a. m. CST. At 12:10 p. m. Explorer II had attained a height of 73.000 feet, Captain Stevens reported, almost 15 miles. Captain Stevens, congratulated over his short wave radio set, on setting the new record, replied: "Yep, that's right." Kept Alive By Oxygen Inside the metal gondola the i son, the pilot, had started the ascent as-cent at 8:01 a. m. CST from the 1 sheltered cliff-faced bowl in the Black Hills legion southwest of here. Third Attempt , It was their third assault on the , altitude record. The first attempt last year ended in a crash near i Holdredge, Neb., about 200 miles ! southeast of the point where the new record was set today. Earlier this autumn the second attempt ended when the canvas ripped at j the takeoff, deflating- the bag. I Captain Stevens reported back to Washington by radio to the sponsors of the flight. The National Na-tional Geographic society and the army, that when the official world's record was bettered the temperature inside the metal gondola gon-dola was 21 degrees Farenheit above" zero. Outside the gondola |