Article . Up, Up, and Away!

The year was 1783, and the place was France. Two brothers named Montgolfier launched the first hot-air balloon. It was made of four huge pieces of fabric and paper, held together by almost 2,000 buttons.

The balloon stayed in the air about ten minutes. There were no humans on board because that would have been dangerous. Instead, the aerial passengers were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster. After this historic event, interest in balloons grew quickly, and inventors began competing to see who could make the safest balloon and take the longest flight. Some people worked on balloons filled with heated air. Others developed balloons filled with hydrogen, a gas lighter than air.

A hot air balloon is shown. The cage at the bottom holds a sheep, a duck, and a rooster.

A few months after the flight of the Montgolfier balloon, another first in balloon history took place. A Frenchman named Jacques Charles launched a beautiful balloon made of silk and filled with hydrogen. Charles’s balloon looked lovely as the gas lifted it in the air.

In November of that same year, the Montgolfier brothers again made history. A giant balloon they had constructed carried humans into the air for the first time. One of the aeronauts was a French science teacher who had helped with the first Montgolfier flight, and his companion was a French nobleman. The two men sailed over Paris for 25 minutes. The mechanism that heated the air and inflated the balloon was a fire of burning straw. It was a wonderful flight until the balloon caught on fire, but luckily, no one was hurt.

While the first hot-air balloons were used for adventure, people soon saw that they could be used for military purposes, such as delivering messages across long distances. During the Civil War and in World War I, balloons were used for communication and transportation. In World War II, wires were strung between balloons, forming a trap for enemy airplanes.

Soon there was nearly an epidemic of hot-air balloonists trying to see how far up they could soar. In 1932, balloonists went into the stratosphere, more than 52,000 feet up. Their cabin had to be pressurized so they could endure the trip. Since then, balloonists have been going even higher. In 1988, a record was set: 65,000 feet upward, more than 10 miles high!

Question.
More recently, balloons have been used to travel long distances. In 1978, a balloon called the Double Eagle crossed the Atlantic Ocean. The balloon was filled with helium and carried three passengers. In 1991, a hot-air balloon crossed the Pacific Ocean, reaching speeds of up to 245 miles an hour! Later in 1991, two men completed a balloon flight around the world. It was a thrilling feat.

Today, many hot-air balloons are used for science and studying the weather. They often carry thermometers and other weather-measuring devices. So, while hot-air balloons are used for fun, they are used for serious purposes, as well.

For what has the hot-air balloon been used?

A.
daily traveling

B.
exploring space

C.
weather experiments

D.
learning about geology

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