Could Poland's pre-war balloon have conquered the stratosphere?
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
15.10.2012 18:31
Following Felix Baumgartner's death-defying leap through the sound barrier, it's time to remember a Polish pre-war balloon mission that also aimed sky-high for a world record.
Inflation of The Star of Poland, 1938: source - aerostaty
In late 1936, construction began on 'The Star of Poland' (Gwiazda Polski), a hydrogen balloon designed to trump America's then record flight height of 22 km.
The Polish balloon was larger than the American record-holder Explorer II, and was funded thanks to public donations and the sale of commemorative stamps.
Sights were set on reaching a height of 30 km, 6.5 km less than Mr Baumgartner's 21st century target.
Unsurprisingly, neither of the two-man Polish team was actually hoping to leap out of the balloon - unless an emergency required it - given that parachuting technology was still in its infancy.
The team consisted of Captain Zbigniew Burzynski, twice winner of international balloon race the Gordon Bennett Cup, and physicist Konstanty Jodko-Narkiewicz, who had led Poland's first expedition to the Andes.
As it was, the first test flight, held in October 1938 in the Tatra Mountains of southern Poland, had to be aborted owing to damage caused by a fire.
A second attempt was due to be held in September 1939, but war intervened and the Star of Poland was deprived of its shot at glory. (nh/pg)
Source: aerostaty.pl