Control of the height of the balloon was via ballast. There were 40 small bags outside the gondola full of lead weights. An air-tight mechanical arrangement allowed the crew to flip the bags over ...

Annual hot air balloon festival draws global audience to ... A little after 10 a.m., Blanchard climbed into the gondola and signaled his helpers to let go, and the balloon climbed into the sky ...

Browse a gallery of the U.S. Air Force's high-altitude balloon experiments and the researchers, scientists, and test pilots who made them possible.