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The Forum: Balloons and How they Changed the World

Discussion & Talk

NASA's super pressure balloon.  (credits: NASA/Bill Rodman)

06/08/2016 GMT

Balloons and How they Changed the World

BBC World Service - The Forum, Balloons and How they Changed the World

The extraordinary impact of balloons on the human race.

Balloons and the importance of their impact on human affairs: from adventure and war to launching satellites and life-saving surgery.

A small toy balloon floating free into the sky.  A giant hot air balloon filled with passengers peering down at the ground. Classic images, but what about the huge balloons now being developed to help us explore outer space? Or the tiny balloons which bio engineers inflate inside your body to help blood surge through your veins? Or the extraordinary balloonomania that spread across Northern Europe in the late 18th century? Bridget Kendall explores the colourful history of the balloon and its even more intriguing future with guests:

Debbie Fairbrother, Chief of NASA’s Balloon Programme Office.

Professor Claudio Capelli, cardiovascular engineer from the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London.

Fiona Stafford, Professor of literature from Somerville College, University of Oxford.

Photo: NASA’s super pressure balloon is designed for long-duration flights at mid-latitudes to provide scientists and engineers with a means to inexpensively access the ’near-space’ environment for conducting research and technology test missions. The balloon’s operational float altitude is 110,000 feet (33.5 kilometers)  (Credit: NASA/Bill Rodman)

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