The ''Two Eagles Balloon'' is a custom balloon designed to break world records. A January 2015 launch from Japan toward North America has officially broken two world records as validated by the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

Development

The balloon was developed by a crew which included members of

Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraf ...

's ''Spirit of Freedom'' balloon crew. The balloon was initially developed for a 2005 and later 2008 flight attempt by Troy Bradley using the name ''Celestial Eagle'' with a crew including

Tim Cole Timothy Brian Cole (July 1, 1960 – December 2, 1999) was an American military veteran and a Texas Tech University student wrongfully convicted of raping a fellow student in 1985. Cole attended two years of college followed by two years of se ...

, Bert Padelt and John Kugler. The launch 2008 attempt from Japan was canceled due to weather that would have placed the balloon in storms off California and jet streams which may have altered path to Alaska.

Design

The 100 kg Kevlar-Carbon fiber capsule was built by Composite Tooling in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. The 7ftx5ft capsule carries 10,000 lb in ballast. The gondola is outfitted with a wide angle

GoPro GoPro, Inc. (marketed as GoPro and sometimes stylized as GoPRO) is an American technology company founded in 2002 by Nick Woodman. It manufactures action cameras and develops its own mobile apps and video editing software, video-editing software ...

camera. The unpressurized cockpit requires pilots to use supplemental oxygen above 12,000 ft altitude. The insulated gondola temperature is expected to have an operating temperature of 50 degrees F. Members of the Cognitive Engineering Research Institute in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...

will study fatigue effects during the record-attempting flight. To slow down for landing, ropes will be dropped into the ocean to create drag prior to a planned landing on a sand dune. Lower sections of the gondola can be flooded with water for stability in a water landing.

Operational history

*January 25, 2015 - Pilots Troy Bradley of the United States and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia launch from

Saga Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of roughly 780,000 and has a geographic area of . Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefect ...

, Japan on a record setting attempt. The initial planned route sets a landing spot in Canada. The

Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum The Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum is a museum dedicated to the worldwide history, science, and art of all types of balloon (aircraft), ballooning and lighter-than-air flight. It is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico ...

is used as mission control for the attempt. *January 2015 - The ''Two Eagles Balloon'' broke the unofficial world record for distance traveled in a gas balloon, exceeding 5,260 miles set by the '' Double Eagle V''. *29 January 2015 - The planned landing location shifts to Baja, Mexico. *January 30, 2015 - The unofficial record for time aloft in a gas balloon of 137 hours, 5 minutes and 50 seconds set in 1978 by the ''

Double Eagle II ''Double Eagle II'', piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman (aviator), Larry Newman, became the first balloon to Transatlantic flight, cross the Atlantic Ocean when it landed on 17 August 1978 in Miserey near Paris, 137 hours a ...

'' is exceeded by the ''Two Eagles Balloon'' team. *The ''Two Eagles'' crew landed the balloon in the ocean four miles off the Baja coast on 31 January 2015. The time aloft was six days, 160 hours and 37 minutes with 6,656 miles traveled. *July 15, 2015 - FAI ratifies record attempts. Official time aloft is 160 h 34 min, distance is 10,711.6 km.

Specifications

References

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External links