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Eine Batterie von Wasserstoffflaschen zum Fuellen des Ballons, mit dem der Schweizer Wissenschaftler Auguste Piccard und der belgische Physiker Max Cosyns zum zweiten Flug in die Stratosphaere aufbrechen werden, sind vor dem Start am 18. August 1932 auf dem Flugfeld in Duebendorf, Schweiz, deponiert. (KEYSTONE/PHOTOPRESS-ARCHIV/Es) Hydrogen cylinders for filling the envelope of Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard's balloon are piled on the airfield of the airport in Duebendorf, Switzerland, before their balloon flight to the stratosphere, pictured on August 18, 1932. It is Piccard's second balloon flight to the stratosphere. Piccard and a Belgian physicist made a record-breaking ascent to 16'200 m on August 18, 1932. Auguste Piccard (1884-1962) was a physicist, inventor and explorer. An interest in ballooning and a curiosity about the upper atmosphere led him to design and construct a spherical, pressurized aluminum gondola which would allow him to ascend to great altitude without requiring a pressure suit in 1930. Piccard and a Belgian engineer reached a record altitude of 15'785 m on May 27, 1931. During this flight, Piccard was able to gather substantial data on the stratosphere. In the mid-1930s, Piccard's interests shifted when he realized that a modification of some of his atmospheric balloon concepts would allow to descend into the deep ocean and he designed a small steel gondola to withstand great external pressure. Piccard and his son built the improved Bathyscaphe Trieste in 1953. (KEYSTONE/PHOTOPRESS-ARCHIV/Es)