Lmst

#Transpacific

Congrats to Ideas on Fire authors Lily Wong, Christopher B. Patterson, and Chien-ting Lin on their new book Transpacific Undisciplined! Out now from the University of Washington Press, this text explores interdisciplinary movements across the Pacific. https://uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295752754/transpacific-undisciplined/

#Transpacific #AsianAmericanStudies #NewBooks #IoFAuthors

Just updated on #StratoCat important events and dates of #scientific ballooning history that occurred in #February

- First balloon flight in Antarctica
- MOBY DICK project #balloon sets record
- 7 mice survive six days in balloon #gondola
- BAL-AST telescope observes #Venus
- Nick #Piantanida's 2nd free fall attempt
- #Challenger deploys balloon device in orbit
- Steve #Fossett completes 1st.solo #transpacific balloon flight

...and much more

https://stratocat.com.ar/otd/indexe.html

Steve Fossett completed the first balloon solo flight over the Pacific Ocean on Feb. 22, 1995.

The mission performed under the motto "Seoul to San Francisco" started on February 1995 in the capital city of South Korea. Althought the trip was intended for US coast, the balloon finally landed on February 21, in a farmer's muddy field in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada.

The entire flight to cross the Pacific Ocean endured four days, covering 5345 miles and breaking the previous long distance record established in 5,208 miles. At the same time the aeronaut become the first person to fly a balloon solo across the Pacific Ocean.

During the flight, Fossett faced several problems like losing the propane heaters for his cabin which made the cabin froze during most of the trip, or almost hitting the Ocean's surface due to the failure of a burner.

On Feb. 21, 1965 a 200 feet diameter balloon was launched by Air Force Cambridge Research Labatories personnel from Holloman AFB, New Mexico, transporting a special telescope to make spectroscopic records of the planet Venus. The Mission was the third one of Project BAL-AST (Balloon Astronomy) under guidance of Dr. John D. Strong of the John Hopkins University. The instrument was fully automated and consisted of a 41 cm Schmidt-mirror telescope coupled with an infrared spectrometer.

As a result of the flight, decisive conclusions were obtained about the occurrence of ice crystals in the clouds of Venus.

On February 2 in 1966, Nick Piantanida, an amateur parachute jumper from New Jersey made the second attempt to break the world free-fall record jumping from a stratospheric balloon.

The mission was launched from Joe Foss Field near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and reached an unprecedented altitude of 123,500 feet. From that height he had planned to parachute but was unable to disconnect himself from his oxygen line. He aborted the jump and detached from the balloon, returning to earth in the gondola. Because he did not return to earth with his balloon, his absolute altitude record remained unofficial.

Piantanida would suffer an accident during the third attempt that would lead him to a four months comma and later death in August that same year.

#BBCLauraK #KemiBadenoch signs #TransPacific trade deal, which at 0.08% GDP is so ineffective it won't matter, it's a #Brexit delusion. UK trade as % of GDP has declined substantially compared to G7 nations since #BrexitDisaster. Tory brexiteers so deluded they are destroying UK.