Visit the birthplace of the space age

Under the protection of the strato Bowl130m rock wall, Explorer-2 hot air balloon filled with helium was ready to go, and set the highest flight records of 1935 and 1 1.

Source: H. Lee Wells, National Geographic Image Collection.

Bill Newco's close-up

One thing is obvious: few people travel by hot air balloon now.

At 6 o'clock on a recent Friday morning, at a high-speed rest stop in Heishan Town, west of Rapid City, South Dakota, I stood shivering with a dozen people. We held our heads high and stared at a small black dot. It was a small helium balloon released by mark west a few minutes ago. The tall man with silver hair often has a smile on his face, but now his brow is furrowed.

He said, "It flew in the wrong direction. It's going to Mount Rushmore. " When he called the National Weather Service in Lapit, he learned the worse news: although the rain weakened the night before, it would not stop.

Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, a group of us almost all wore masks and gathered around him to eavesdrop on his conversation.

"I definitely don't recommend taking off this morning." West finally announced. He should know that he is the president of the American Balloon Federation. But when I look around, these people seem quite optimistic and surprising.

"Well," said a voice in the crowd, "let's go down to the pit and play again."

The so-called "bowl" refers to a natural pit with a depth of about130m at a distance of about130m from this high-speed rest station. In the shadow of a row of trees, the flat land suddenly fell into a steep semi-circular rock pit. There is a large circular meadow at the bottom of the pit, and the wind can't blow into the pit, which is a paradise for balloon lovers.

Since 1934, this place has been called "stratospheric bowl". During the two-year intensive activities, scientists from the US Air Force and the National Geographic Society gathered here to use the natural barrier of the pit wall and the altitude of more than 65,438+0,200 meters to send humans into the stratosphere for the first time. Several teams modified the spherical diving device and connected it to a very large balloon. These balloons were first filled with hydrogen and then filled with helium. They untied the cable, flew to an unprecedented height, and then landed at a dangerous landing site hundreds of kilometers away.

About 100 logistics personnel gathered in a temporary village in a advection bowl with members of the South Dakota National Guard and the US Army's Fourth Cavalry.

Source: Richard Hewitt Stewart and Newton Blake Sley, National Geographic Image Collection.

NASA and its predecessors used the data of these early airplanes and some balloon flying activities in the late 1950s to study the survivability of flying at high altitude. It is no exaggeration to say that the space age originated from the advection bowl.

Nowadays, every September, a group of persistent balloon enthusiasts will come back here to commemorate the feat of human beings entering the upper atmosphere in the early days. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday after Labor Day in the United States, when balloon enthusiasts gathered at the bottom of the advection bowl, thousands of onlookers stood on the edge of the pothole, watching hot air balloons rise from the lower reaches of Ran Ran to be flush with themselves, and then watching them fly high into the sky.

This Friday this year, onlookers will be disappointed. However, for balloon lovers, the advection bowl gives them a special consolation prize: they can go down to the bottom of the pit, inflate the balloon, and then "play"-tie the hot air balloon to a truck for anchoring and fly to a place more than 30 meters high.

Besides, a balloon lover told me, "We will fly again tomorrow." He paused and said, "The day after tomorrow."

peaceful rise

When these hardcore balloon enthusiasts drove their RV to the bottom of the pit along the winding dirt road, I chose to walk around the advection bowl pit. Although it was cloudy this morning, the scenery was still spectacular. Deep in the pothole, two balloon lovers have filled their colorful balloons with air, rising and falling slowly, just like flowers floating on the invisible waves. The spring stream is still gurgling at the bottom of the pit. It winds down the semi-circular pit wall and finally flows to a small wooded canyon.

When the rising sun lit up the bottom of the canyon, I noticed something unnatural: there was a huge sign of peace in the 1960s on the grass. This is the handmade work of Ken Tomovic, the owner of this hot air balloon treasure.

"In about 2008, I cut this peace sign on the grass," Tomovick said. "I did this for several reasons. One of them is to commemorate my brother who was seriously injured in Vietnam. "

Not far from the grassy clearing at the bottom of the pit, there is tomovic's country house, and he and I sit behind the house. His family has owned this land for generations, and his land happens to include this historic balloon launch site.

Ironically, as a retired airplane and helicopter pilot, tomovic has never flown a hot air balloon. However, he cherishes the position of this pothole in the history of space. He likes to wander between these hot air balloons and players in a hurry, occasionally stopping to help pull the rope or tear open the balloon envelope so that the big fan can inflate the balloon.

"He is such a person," said his wife Cory, stroking his arm gently. "His heart actually wants to share this place with the world."

Tomovick has been involved in declaring the advection bowl a national historical site for many years. I could have done it, but my neighbor stopped me. He said gloomily that some neighbors don't like hot air balloons.

"This may be another reason why I cut down the peace sign there. "He said with a wry smile, imagining that every time those opposed neighbors looked out of the back window, they could see his symbol of peace and generosity.

On the brink of disaster

At 6 o'clock on Saturday morning, I came out of the hotel and was delighted to see the stars shining in the clear and dark sky.

"Let's fly balloons today!" I said to myself. Then, I saw a message from Kay West. He and her husband mark west called the Meteorological Bureau and have been here every year since 20 10.

She wrote in the short message: "There is a shower in the east. It may not fly, but it will tie a rope at the bottom of the pit."

This time, I joined their activities at the bottom of the advection bowl pit and walked with Kay in five balloons with different inflation levels. As a top hot air balloon driver and a nationally recognized coach, Kay started to participate in the Montenegro Hot Air Balloon Festival from 1984. She expects that more than a dozen hot air balloon pilots will take part in the official launch this year-if any. "We have never completely failed." She said confidently.

A few enthusiastic balloon lovers made me take a few short flights. Flying in the sky with a broad vision, from the grassy pit bottom to the edge of the rock, and then to the lingering morning fog on the rock wall, the whole advection bowl can be seen at a glance. It is not difficult to imagine that in the mid-1930s, the activities in this place were very lively, and the whole pothole was full of enthusiasm for scientific activities.

Balloon pioneers Colonel Orville Anderson and Colonel Albert W Stevens are preparing for a record flight over Montenegro, South Dakota. Anderson later wrote: "The capsule is back ... with cosmic ray information, which proves that mold spores can survive in thin air and strong solar radiation."

Source: Richard Hewitt Stewart, National Geographic Image Collection.

1933, the board of directors of the National Geographic Society decided not to simply report on the world's greatest hot air balloon adventure, but to participate in high-altitude exploration. Within a few months, the institute settled in the advection bowl, mainly because this place is close to the expressway, and its towering and steep pit wall can protect the big hot air balloon from wind damage when it is inflated.

In cooperation with the US Air Force, the National Geographic Society commissioned Dow Chemical Company to make spherical flat-bottomed frames with Dow alloy (a material lighter than aluminum). This car can carry three people, plus scientific research equipment, for measuring atmospheric pressure and altitude. They also measured cosmic rays in anticipation of future space travel.

A flatbed truck pulled the car from Michigan. This huge hot air balloon with a volume of 990 cubic meters was shipped in crates from the Goodyear-Zeppelin factory in Akron, Ohio.

The plane named "Explorer" took off smoothly at about 5 am on July 28th. 1934. However, something went wrong when it flew above the altitude of18000m with three crew members.

Captain Albert Stevens wrote: "A short piece of rope fell out of the bag and landed on the cabin. I looked up from the hatch and was horrified to find a big crack in the lower part of the hot air balloon. "

Soon, these people began to dive to the earth, and the remaining hot air balloon was like a failed parachute, but Stevens said, "The scene was spectacular."

About 1800 meters above Nebraska, some flapping materials on the hot air balloon may have produced Mars, and the remaining hydrogen exploded. At the critical moment, three crew members parachuted freely, opened their parachutes and landed safely, while Explorer, in Stevens' words, "crashed to the ground with a loud noise".

The National Geographic Society started the construction of Explorer 2 almost immediately, and made a major change: replacing hydrogen with helium. In order to prevent members of the National Geographic Society from thinking that their annual fee of $3.50 hit Shui Piao, Gilbert H. grosvenor, chairman of the Society, comforted them: "Most of the economic losses caused by the explosion of hot air balloons and the crash of cabins have been paid by insurance companies."

The Explorer 2 helium balloon pulled by the rope seems to be eager to escape from the advection bowl. A few minutes later, the hot air balloon carrying scientific research sponsored by National Geographic-US Air Force flew to an altitude of 22,066 meters and entered the stratosphere.

Source: Richard Hewitt Stewart, National Geographic Image Collection.

1935165438+1October1kloc-0/At 7 o'clock in the morning, Explorer 2 hot air balloon was launched from the advection bowl. At 6: 40 in the morning, the plane flew to an altitude of 22,066 meters, setting a new record. Two crew members took a photo covering thousands of square kilometers. From Bighorn Mountain in Wyoming to farms and pastures in the southeast of Lapit City, you can have a panoramic view.

Stevens, who once again challenged fate, wrote: "The sun shines on rivers and lakes, but we can't see any signs of life. This seems to be a dead foreign world. " What we ordinary people are familiar with by plane every year is as strange to Stevens as the surface of Mars.

You can also see other things in the photo: the broad and hazy arc on the horizon. This is the first time that humans have photographed the radian of the earth.

Explorer 2 flew 362 kilometers eastward and landed. Stevens said that this time it was like "eggshells falling to the ground."

The launch of two explorers' hot air balloons caused a sensation in Lapit and other places. Every time, 25,000 to 30,000 onlookers climb to the top of the mountain or pay to sit at the bottom of the pit to watch. ABC Radio broadcast the launch of Explorer 2 live to audiences around the world in South Africa and elsewhere.

In 1950s, the US Navy returned to the advection bowl with the advection laboratory project, which set a new record for hot air balloon spectators and developed new technology for NASA's project mercury spacesuit. However, these feats are incomparable with the sensation caused by explorers 1 and 2.

Mark west said: "For that generation, this is their' project mercury' and the moon landing. Not only has Lapit never seen such a situation, but the whole world has never seen it. "

Finally took off

It's 6 o'clock on Sunday morning. I noticed with the same fear as groundhog day in the movie that the sky today is no different from yesterday.

At the expressway station, mark west released today's black balloon. The balloon rose loosely and then suddenly flew to the southeast. Although it is far from Mount Rushmore, the speed of its flight worries everyone.

Mark called the Meteorological Bureau, and the news was not very good: although the wind on the ground was calm, the high altitude was full of eddies and unpredictable airflow.

"Well," Kiah sighed, "it's better to hope to go up from below than to come down from above." It took me a while to react, which is an old saying in their hot air balloon circle.

"But we have not been completely rejected in these three days." A voice came.

"I know," Kiah said. "This year is only a little different ..."

I suddenly realized that every pair of eyes in the dark turned to me.

"Yes," I said, "let's find a volcano, and you can throw me in to sacrifice to Fengshen."

Kay also asked his friend in the Meteorological Bureau a question: How thick is the calmer air layer under the upper turbulence?

"er ... about 550 meters." He replied.

Every pair of eyes around me lit up.

"If it can be stabilized, it will be quite high!" Kiah shouted. Soon, everyone rushed to their truck and dragged the hot air balloon to the bottom of the advection bowl.

"It's not his fault," Kay said of his friend from the Meteorological Bureau who expressed negative views prematurely. "Not everyone knows about hot air balloons. “

Soon, I took a hot air balloon from the bottom of the advection bowl, and the rock wall descended vertically, just like taking an elevator in a rock tunnel. Kay is driving a hot air balloon, while Ken tomovic and I are enjoying the beautiful scenery and trying not to interfere with her. Although tomovic has always been enthusiastic about this activity, he hasn't taken a hot air balloon for many years. He seems as excited as I am.

When we flew to the pit, the sun surrounded us in the blink of an eye. After a while, we felt a sudden resistance and the wind pushed us to the east. This feeling is similar to driving in a crosswind.

Our hot air balloon group stretches for several kilometers. I am also surprised by the silence in the air more than 300 meters high. I thought there would be a whistling wind, but we have merged with the wind. Behind us in Mount Rushmore National Memorial, George Washington's head emerges from Mount Braque. When the hot air balloon was first released in the advection bowl, the rushmore National Memorial was just taking shape. At that time, Surakota aborigines also called this mountain Tu? Card? ila？ ákpe or Sixth Grandfather Mountain.

When the mountains receded, the pasture appeared, and a small group of livestock appeared on our right. I was reminded that not all ranchers nearby like hot air balloons. Some ranchers insist that colorful balls will scare their livestock, but the group of livestock on my right seems indifferent.

Our driver Kay is not in the mood to enjoy the scenery. She has been observing other hot air balloons in front of us, judging where the wind blows according to their movements, and judging whether to stay at this height or change the height to find a more suitable wind direction.

She said: "Some people are hot air balloon pilots, while others fly hot air balloons just to look beautiful."

After flying in the air for about half an hour, other hot air balloons began to land. Kay found the landing site for us on the roadside about 13 km from the starting point. She alternately lit the gas stove of the hot air balloon, released hot air to the hot air balloon above, bypassed a grassy hill, and then jumped over the barbed wire fence at a speed of 5 kilometers per hour. I can't help but think of the time when neil armstrong and buzz aldrin searched for a safe landing site between the moon rocks and craters.

We fell, just like being pulled by an invisible hand, and stopped directly on the shoulder of a country road.

Near midnight, the dark rock wall of the advection bowl surrounded a group of bright stars. It is here that mankind took the first great step towards these planets. Since then, they no longer regard themselves as citizens of the earth, but also as citizens of the universe.

Explorer 2' s high-altitude flight record was broken 20 years later. 1954, the X2 jet of the US Air Force finally broke the record, flying almost twice as high as the record. Seven years later, yuri gagarin of the Soviet Union became the first person to get rid of the earth's shackles and enter the earth's orbit.

Now, billions of kilometers away, the starship Voyager 2 is setting new altitude records every second and continues to measure cosmic rays. All this was done about 90 years ago when a hot air balloon flew from the grass in a rock pit to the edge of space.

(Translator: Mike Gao)