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Show Strato sphere Balloon II Major Kepner and Captain Stevens Talk It Over. Prepared by National Geofrraphic Society, Washington, D. O. WNU Service. WuuK on the world's largest free balloon which will be used in the National Geographic Geo-graphic Society-United States Army Air corps stratosphere flights is well under way at the Goodyear-Zep-pelin corporation's plant at Akron, Ohio. The balloon makers will use two-and-a-third acres of cotton fabric Impregnated with rubber in constructing construct-ing the bag, and It will have a capacity of 3,000,000 cubic feet of gas. When the balloon rises from the earth, only partly inflated, it will be shaped like a gigantic exclamation point with the round gondola representing repre-senting the period. As the gondola leaves the ground, the top of the bag will be 295 feet above it approximately approxi-mately the height of a 27-story office building. When the bag becomes spherical In the thin air of the stratosphere, strato-sphere, it will.be large enough to enclose en-close an 11-story building of normal height and of equal width. The assent, In which it is hoped to reach the highest point to which it is practicable for a balloon to lift a man, will be made in the United States. The purpose of the flight is to clear problems of the upper air that are still puzzling to science. It is estimated esti-mated that it will rise to a height of more than 15 miles above sea level. The first ascent will be made In June by Capt. Albert W. Stevens, noted aerial observer and photographer of the army air corps, who conceived the project, and Maj. William Kepner, balloon expert of the army air corps. If this flight is successful, the same balloonists will make a second ascent in September, In order to check observations ob-servations under similar conditions. Scientists to Give Aid. To advise In regard to the scientific scien-tific plans and equipment, and to direct di-rect studies of the data collected, Dr. Gilbert Grosvenor, president of the National Geographic society, has formed a committee of outstanding American scientists. Its members are : Dr. Lyman J. Briggs, director United States bureau of standards, chairman ; Dr. F. V. Coville, United States Department De-partment of Agriculture; Gen. Oscar Westover, assistant chief, United States Army Air corps; Capt. It. S. Patton, director, United States coast and geodetic survey ; Dr. W. F. G. Swann, Bartol Research foundation, Franklin institute, Swarthmore, Pa.; Dr. Floyd K. Eichtmyer, department of physics, Cornell university, and member research council, American Association for the Advancement of Science; Dr. Charles E. K. Mees, director di-rector research laboratory, Eastman Kodak company; Dr. Charles F. Marvin, Mar-vin, chief of United States weather bureau, and Dr. John Oliver La Gorce, National Geographic society. The huge balloon to be used In the ascents will have a gas capacity five times that of the bag in which Commander Com-mander Settle established his 11-mlle record last November; and nearly three-and-a-half times that of the Soviet balloon which in September rose nearly near-ly 12 miles above the earth. The exact point at which the bal-' bal-' loon will take to the air has not been selected, but It will probably be In the northern great plains region. Such a choice, It Is pointed out, will give ample am-ple room for drift to the northeast, east, or southeast and a landing In open country, so that the bag can be salvaged. The completed plans for the flights are due to the efforts of Captain Stevens, who tins gathered data during dur-ing the past eleven months directed toward the use In stratosphere (lights of the largest balloon which It Is practicable prac-ticable to construct, and an ascent to the highest point to which it is believed be-lieved possible for man to rise in a gas bag, with hope of a safe landing. The mere attainment of altitude, however, is not a primary object of the ascents. It Is desired to reach the greatest attainable at-tainable height above the earth In order or-der that conditions there can be observed. ob-served. Stevens Has Experience. Captain Stevens has penetrated the lower levels of the stratosphere by airplane air-plane on numerous occasions and also has served as observer on a number of army balloon ascensions. During his high altitude (lying he has collected col-lected much scientific data. In a (light over Dayton, Ohio, In October. 10'2S. he reached an altitude of 30.150 feet and obtained the only complete record of thermometer readings ever made in America, showing on the same day the "temperature gradient" In the region from the earth to the strato sphere. Other such records of temperatures, temper-atures, from the earth to an altitude of approximately 80,000 feet, Is one of the objectives of the 1934 ascents. Such data will be extremely valuable In weather studies. Another project of Importance will be the trapping of samples of stratosphere strato-sphere air at several levels. These specimens will be analyzed and studied later in physical and chemical laboratories. lab-oratories. The preliminary "agenda" for scientific scien-tific data to be collected during the ascent contains 14 other items varying from high level photography and the ascertainment of the electrical condition condi-tion of the air at various levels, to cosmic ray studies and efforts to determine de-termine ozone concentration. The mysterious ozone layer of the upper air which some scientists assert Is all that saves life on the earth from destruction de-struction by ultra-short light rays, is thought to He far above the highest point that can be reached by a manned balloon. It is hoped, however, that evidences evi-dences of an increasing ozone content of the air can be detected 15 miles up. In order to house the many Instruments Instru-ments and automatic recording devices de-vices that will be taken aloft, the balloon bal-loon will have attached to it a spherical spheri-cal gondola of light metal, eight feet four inches, in diameter.' This diameter diame-ter Is one foot and a third greater than that of the gondolas used by Professor Pro-fessor Piccard and Commander Settle, and will provide a cubic capacity more than twice as great. The instruments, many of them designed de-signed and modified by Captain Stevens as a result of trials during high altitude alti-tude flights, will be largely automatic, leaving observer and pilot free to take up the many activities In the gondola that will require attention. A number of tiny cameras, using motion-picture film, will automatically and tirelessly "read" dials and clock faces simultaneously simul-taneously at frequent Intervals. Kepner's Fine Record. Maj. William E. Kepner, who will pilot the stratosphere balloon, is one of the outstanding balloon pilots of the United States army. He served in the World war in the infantry and was decorated by both the American and French armies for exceptional services. He holds four medals: Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre with Palm, Distinguished Service Cross, and Good Conduct Medal, United States Marine corps. He has been an officer of the air corps since 1920, and holds the aeronautical ratings of airplane pilot, airplane observer, airship pilot and balloon pilot and observer. He was winner of both the national and the International balloon races In 1928, receiving the Litchfield trophy and the King Albert of Belgium trophy. He was a classmate of Commander Itosendahl of the Los Angeles, and of Commander Settle, for three years at Lakehurst Major Kepner holds a naval certificate as rigid airship pilot. He served on the Los Angeles as assistant as-sistant navigator and received training train-ing from the German Zeppelin crew. He commanded the RS-1 semi-rigid airship in 1927-1028, and was the first to pilot an all metal airship In 1929. Captain Stevens has made Innumerable Innumer-able high altitude photographs, some of them, by the use of infra-red rays, showing mountain peak3 more than 300 miles from the camera. Two of his photographs, of extraordinary Interest In-terest to geographers and astronomers, are unique. One taken from a plane 21,000 feet over central Argentina Is the first photograph ever made showing show-ing laterally the curvature of the earth. The other, made at an altitude of 26,000 feet over southern Maine. In August, 1932, Is the only photograph which shows the advancing front of the moon's shadow on the earth during dur-ing an eclipse of the sun. |