In September 2013, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) succeeded in sending a stratospheric balloon 53.7 kilometers high, setting a world record. The balloon was capable of carrying a payload of 3 kilos. But why raise it so high? At that height and equipped with the appropriate sensors, the device could provide valuable data on what is happening in the region of near space and obtain information on the northern lights or cosmic radiation . It would also be especially interesting for military surveillance.
In fact, the stratosphere has been a prime location for inter-nation espionage since the end of World War II . The fall of one of those first stratospheric spy balloons triggered the appearance of one of the most popular myths of the second half of the 20th century: the UFO crashed in Roswell (New Mexico). It was actually Flight 4 of Project Mogul, a secret program that began in 1947 and was designed to listen to possible Soviet nuclear explosions and, incidentally, to demonstrate that the Russians had developed the bomb.
In more peaceful fields, the use of high-altitude balloons was also generalized in that period to understand the behavior of the stratosphere and the chemical processes that take place there . They have also been launched to study the composition of cosmic radiation before it interacts with the lowest and densest part of the atmosphere.
On the other hand, going up in a balloon has been a human endeavor since the Montgolfier brothers ascended one to 100 meters above Paris in 1783. Today, the record for ascent is held by the Austrian Felix Baumgartner, who thanks to one reached a height of just over 39 kilometers before jumping to Earth, which made him the first paratrooper to exceed the speed of sound. Space tourism also has its sights set on these types of balloons. Thus, the Spanish company Zero2infinity is devising habitable modules for its stratospheric balloons. With capacity for six people, climbing one would be a fascinating experience.
