Ballooning

The view from 15,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean as seen from the Two Eagles Balloon flight deck.

A US-Russian pair is trying to smash the ‘holy grail’ of ballooning records

Technology

Balloon pilots Troy Bradley and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia are currently floating above the Pacific Ocean on what they hope is a record-setting flight. Now five days and more than 5,000 miles into the trip, they’re gunning for the record for longest gas balloon trip of all time.

The Living on Earth Almanac

Almanac/Hot Air Balloon

The World

Emerging Science Note/Snow White

Almanac/Hot Air Balloon

The World

Balloons and the ethics of hoaxing

Global Politics

Famous hoaxter Joey Skaggs has been pulling off hoaxes since the 1960s. He agrees that the Heene story feels like a scam and says it violates all the ethical rules of hoaxters.