bild

Der Schweizer Wissenschaftler Auguste Piccard inspiziert im Labor der Universitaet in Bruessel, Belgien, die Druckkapsel des Ballons, mit dem die belgischen Physiker Max Cosyns und Debruyne in die Stratosphaere fliegen wollen, undatierte Aufnahme. Piccard und Cosyns flogen zusammen am 18. August 1932 in die Stratosphaere und stellten dabei einen Hoehenrekord auf. (KEYSTONE/IBA-ARCHIV/Str) Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard inspects the balloon gondola in the laboratory at the university in Brussels, Belgium, undated picture. Belgian physicists Max Cosyns and Debruyne want to fly to the stratosphere by balloon. 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. Piccard and Cosyns made a second record-breaking ascent to 16'200 m on August 18, 1932. 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/IBA-ARCHIV/Str)