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Die Kapsel des Ballons, mit dem der Schweizer Wissenschaftler Auguste Piccard zu seinem zweiten Flug in die Stratosphaere aufbrechen wird, steht vor dem Start am 18. August 1932 auf dem Flugfeld in Duebendorf, Schweiz. Piccard wird auf seinem Flug von dem belgischen Physiker Max Cosyns begleitet. (KEYSTONE/PHOTOPRESS-ARCHIV/Es) The gondola of Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard's balloon before the take-off for his second flight to the stratosphere on the airport in Duebendorf, Switzerland, pictured on August 18, 1932. A Belgian physicist accompanies Piccard on his flight. Piccard 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)