COSMIC RAY STUDIES

Developed by Office of Naval Research (ONR)

Balloon launched on 1/6/1948, from Camp Ripley, Little Falls, Minnesota, US

Purpose of the flight and payload description

The payload was composed by a cloud chamber designed to test high-energy particles that come from outside the atmosphere.

Details of the balloon flight

Balloon launched on: 1/6/1948 at 08:00 CST
Launch site: Camp Ripley, Little Falls, Minnesota, US  
Balloon launched by: General Mills Inc.
Balloon manufacturer/size/composition: Zero Pressure Balloon General Mills - 72.8 - 226.000 cu. Ft.
End of flight (L for landing time, W for last contact, otherwise termination time): 1/??/1948
Landing site: Preset cut-down automatic device failed.The balloon was lost on the sea.
 Payload weight: 80 pounds

Preset cut-down automatic device failed.The balloon was lost on the sea. In their route over Kentucky Captain Thomas Mantell died chasing it near Goodman Field.

The balloon was launched from Camp Ripley, Minnesota on January 6, 1948. When fully inflated, it stood 105 feet tall and had a diameter of nearly 73 feet. The helium-filled balloon ascended to an altitude of 90,000 feet and drifted southeast, passing over Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina, before ultimately blowing out to sea due to the failure of the preset cut-down automatic device. The balloon in the Atlantic Ocean without ever releasing its parachute, which carried valuable scientific information.

On January 7, when passing over Kentucky the balloon was sighted by personnel at Godman Army Airfield that didn't new about the launch and reported seeing a large circular object. Captain Thomas F. Mantell, a WWII veteran pilot, and two other pilots were asked to investigate. While two planes turned back due to low fuel, Mantell continued the chase, reporting something "metallic and tremendous in size" before his F-51 Mustang crashed, killing him. The primary reason for Mantell's death was his decision to climb to a high altitude (estimated over 25,000 feet) without supplemental oxygen. In 1948, his F-51 Mustang was not equipped with a pressure suit or oxygen system necessary for high-altitude flight. This likely led to hypoxia -a dangerous condition caused by lack of oxygen- which would have caused confusion, impaired judgment, and eventually unconsciousness.

Primary source of the launch date and purpose of the flight came from an interview made to Charles B. Moore -balloon pioneer that worked at General Mills at the time of the incident- in a Newspaper article published in the Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, on October 9, 1994 (see references below).

External references

Images of the mission

Picture of the balloon launch provided by Dr. Charles Moore to UFO investigator Barry Greenwood Picture of the balloon launch provided by Dr. Charles Moore to UFO investigator Barry Greenwood      

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