U.S. Sends Balloon 930 Miles Up

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29878, 19 July 1962, Page 13

U.S. Sends Balloon 930 Miles Up

(N.Z Press Association-Copyright)

CAPE CANAVERAL (Florida), July 18.

The United States today sent a 13storey balloon almost 1000 miles in space and successfully inflated it today in a spectacular preview of a new global communications system.

Toe balloon appeared as a bright star to many early risers along the eastern coast of the United States as it caught the first rays of the morning sun. The balloon was shot about

930 miles into the heavens at 5.30 am. (local time) packed tigihtily inside a canister in the nose of a Thor rocket. Last January a similar shot in the Echo project ended in. a spectacular failure when the baHioon over-inflated and ripped apart in the sky. The balloon was released about three minutes after the Thor roared oft the pad, leaving a bloasomang vapour trail, the Associated Press reported. Largest A powder turned to gas by the heat of the sun inflated the balloon to its 135 ft diameter—making iit the largest, but not the heaviest, space vehicle ever sent aloft. Scientists said they received excellent pictures of ejection and inflation from the television cameras in the rocket's nose. The Thor also carried movie cameras which were to be dropped by capsule into the Atlantic and recovered. Officials said the test apparently met all its objective* The rocket reached its peak altitude about 12 minutes after a blast-off, then began its drive back toward earth to a fiery destruction in the atmosphere.

Coroner’s Verdict On Hammarskjold (N.Z.PA.-Reuter—Copyright) NDOLA (Northern Rhodesia), July IT. An almost empty Coroner's Court today heard a verdict of “accidental death” on Mr Dag Hammarskjold. the for. mer United Nations Secre-tary-General and 15 others, who died with him in an air crash near Ndola last September.