Balloon achieves constancy at 70,000 feet

The usefulness of balloons in meteorological, atmospheric, and space research increases as their capability of sustaining a constant altitude improves. In the test series conducted by Air Force Research Laboratories now under way a superpressurized balloon carrying a 40-pound payload was recently launched from Chico, Calif., and descended on command 10 days later near Cedar City, Utah. It had sustained constant altitude at 70,000 feet during its 10-day flight.