new presentation of the xap please go to www.mesasphere.com . link to xap bulletin board don piccard s personal page notes for teachers timeline for tests sponsors honor roll games coyote dry lake flight tubular gore balloon design novel approach to skin stress will permit inflation and launch of the extreme altitude craft . this is the secret of xap s design advance . models pictured show radical geometry . xap mascot pax selected questions contact us don flies hydrogen in france in 2003 cover design for preliminary flight announced project overview click for slides note to browse site please click on any underlined item . acme joins xap as a major sponsor sheldahl test results promising balloon mail ready cabin design developing . unique sealing technique . will fly on tests . meteorologist joins team xap the launch of a 2 000 foot tall balloon cluster requires precise monitoring and forecasting to ensure the safety of the vehicle . just how high is the mesosphere what is the mesosphere xap target is over 150 000 feet altitude . click for some definitions . sheldahl joins xap team the company that made the echo satellite balloon is now providing mylar balloon engineering expertise . for the aircraft s cabin a five foot six foot if an observer joins the team . spun aluminum cabin by acme metal spinning co continues the johnston family tradition of space craft fabrication skills . own a piece of history souvenir balloon mail . we will carry balloon mail on the mission . click to find out how you can get one . there is a surprise bonus for early reservations and a few are still left ... don piccard continues his family s tradition of research . the piccards have been called the most celebrated scientific exploring family of the twentieth century . it is a complicated family tree but this should show who s on first jules piccard father of the identical twins jean & auguste jacques piccard son of auguste all time oceanic depth record challenger deep 1961 auguste piccard first man into the stratosphere may 1931 51 775 ft. jeannette piccard first lady in space oct. 1934 57 579 ft. jean piccard inventor of the plastic balloon and the cluster balloon bertrand piccard son of jacques global balloon flight jean luc picard related eventually don piccard son of jean and jeannette personal achievements don piccard is credited as being the father of modern sport hot air ballooning . here are more of don piccard s many accomplishments husband and wife record in 1934 husband and wife team jean and jeannette piccard parents of xap pilot don piccard reached the recorded altitude of 57 579 feet don piccard launches g.t. schjeldahl co. balloon the golden bear on his official f.a.i. world class record gas flight to 34 642 ft. july19 1961 don used an open basket with a liquid oxygen converter provided by pioneer central division of the bendix corporation . world absolute record for balloons the flight will be sanctioned with the national aeronautic association naa and federation aeronautic international fai for homologation as the world balloon absolute altitude record . we will do this even though it will be far different from any previous tropospheric or stratospheric ascension and will utilize aerostatic apparatus hardly recognizable as a balloon apparently not fitting into any of the officially recognized categories . while the object and motivation for xap is not an fai record per se nor even a guinness book world record the flight will far surpass any previous efforts . this flight into the base realms of space will exit the stratosphere and penetrate well into the mesosphere for the first time by any non powered craft . that sovereign territory of the limitless space world has previously only had transitory visitors or been passed through by rocket planes and orbiting spacecraft . xap will linger there for the first time . to characterize this expedition merely as a record attempt would trivialize the real value and intent . email to don piccard dpiccard at comcast.net links o breitling www.breitling.com o brian jones www.orbiterballoon.com o solar impulse www.solarimpulse.com o winds of hope www.windsofhope.org o don piccard www.piccard.info congratulations to cousin dr. bertrand piccard on his 2005 lindbergh foundation award for his work with the winds of hope project . xap is a private non government research effort that will depend on private contributions . xap will be pleased to cooperate with any appropriate commercial or research entity that would like to be involved . title sponsorship opportunities are open . you are visitorthanks for visiting xap . feel free to check out seven star balloons for a fun version of this serious project by clicking here . . burt rutan willie piccard don piccard michelle piccard bertrand piccard and eric lindbergh at the golden wings museum . ... photograph taken by and through the courtesy of john craparo league administrator international aeronauts leaguerevised 9 7 2008 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