Page 14 - Cluster Balloon News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

After eight months of prep work, launch day finally arrives. >> when we were assembling the balloon, the two kids, max and his best friend miles were just so excited. >> we bought like some lollipops so me and miles were really hyped up. >> the kids gave this great countdown. >> ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero, blast off! >> we cut off the balloon. >> it started rocking wildly like crazy. it was going about 25 feet a second, which is pretty fast. after about two minutes, it disappeared into the clouds. >> they track the craft's coordinates. but that's no guarant...

There isn't a lot of oxygen. and the air is very thin. >> the pressure of the helium inside the balloon is now much greater than the surrounding air pressure. so it continues to expand until finally the balloon pops and the craft comes plummeting back to earth at more than 100 miles an hour. >> so the parachute deploys maybe 30 seconds after the balloon bursts. it doesn't do anything until it gets to heavier air. >> at one point, it rocked head over heels. even though it didn't have head or heels. it was just like that. it was pretty amazing because there's a lot of reasons that it wouldn't wo...

Couch kisses his wife and, with cameras rolling, begins the ascent. >> by the most part, i can't steer myself, and that's what i like about this little cluster ballooning thing. you just go where the winds take you. >> the thing you wouldn't probably realize is how peaceful it is up there. it's super quiet. like he's traveling at the same speed of the wind. even when he was moving at 50 miles an hour, he could set a napkin on his knee, and it wouldn't go anywhere. >> it's just like you're floating on a cloud. and you start living a moment of what you've dreamed as a child. >> nearly nine hours...

Each time it kind of made things a little better just learning from the previous flight. >> i started using a pilot's parachute, which is nice and comfortable. we had more balloons, more ballast, we got more security and safety. better communication between the ground crew. >> july 5, 2008. kent couch attempts to fly from bend, oregon, to boise, idaho, and break his record of 193 miles traveled in a cluster balloon. >> on launch day, we had to be up at like 3:30 in the morning. >> it's usually between 50 to 70 volunteers that make this thing work. we'd normally have four or six helium stations...

Forest. it was traffic cone paint, so it really stood out. >> although the neon paint will make it easier to spot, they will need something much more dependable if they want to find it. >> an iphone seemed to have the best app to track the balloon. it gives you longitude and latitude but altitude as well. >> if you lost your phone, you would have where to track it. and we could follow it. >> next to the camera was a little hd camera that's used for sky diving stunts and motor sports and things like that. the whole craft with the camera and tracking system is within the four-pound limit for faa...