Jean Piccard
Encyclopedia
Jean Felix Piccard in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, January 28, 1884 – January 28, 1963, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
), also known as Jean Piccard, was a Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chemist, engineer, professor and high-altitude balloonist
Balloon (aircraft)
A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
. He invented clustered high-altitude balloons, and with his wife Jeannette
Jeannette Piccard
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard was an American high-altitude balloonist, and in later life an Episcopal priest. She held the women's altitude record for nearly three decades, and according to several contemporaneous accounts was regarded as the first woman in space.Jeannette was the first licensed...
, the plastic balloon. Piccard's inventions and co-inventions are used in balloon flight, aircraft and spacecraft. Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
is named for one or both of him and his twin brother Auguste
Auguste Piccard
Auguste Antoine Piccard was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer.-Biography:Piccard and his twin brother Jean Felix were born in Basel, Switzerland...
- in fact, it was sometimes hinted that the character may be descended from the scientist.
Family
Piccard and Jeannette RidlonJeannette Piccard
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard was an American high-altitude balloonist, and in later life an Episcopal priest. She held the women's altitude record for nearly three decades, and according to several contemporaneous accounts was regarded as the first woman in space.Jeannette was the first licensed...
met at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
where he taught and she received her masters degree. They married and had three sons, John, Paul and Donald
Don Piccard
Donald Louis Piccard is an American balloonist.The son of Jean Felix Piccard and Jeannette Piccard, Don Piccard first flew in a balloon in 1933, when he was enlisted as "crew" by his mother, the first woman to fly to the edge of space. He served as a balloon and airship rigger in the U. S...
, and also had foster children. During the 1980s, Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
named the character Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
in Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
for one or both of the Piccard brothers and derived Jean-Luc from Jean's name.
Stratosphere flight
Piccard was the co-pilot for his wife Jeannette on the third and final voyage of the Century of Progress. The largest balloon in the world was conceived for him to fly at the World's FairCentury of Progress
A Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation...
in 1933 but was flown there by US Navy pilots who were licensed. After this flight he created the liquid oxygen converter when the liquid failed to vaporize on descent after the cabin doors were open. Piccard developed a frost-free window, that was used on this flight and later by the Navy and Air Force in the B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
or B-26 Marauder
B-26 Marauder
The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theater and in Western Europe....
. He used blasting cap
Blasting cap
A blasting cap is a small sensitive primary explosive device generally used to detonate a larger, more powerful and less sensitive secondary explosive such as TNT, dynamite, or plastic explosive....
s and TNT for releasing the balloon at launch and for remote release of external ballast from inside the sealed cabin. This was the first use of pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
for remote-controlled actuating devices in aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, an unpopular, revolutionary idea at the time. Later his student Robert R. Gilruth, who became the director of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's center for human spaceflight training, research and flight control. The center consists of a complex of 100 buildings constructed on 1,620 acres in Houston, Texas, USA...
, approved and used them in spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
.
The July 21st, 1952 issue of The Canberra Times newspaper printed a front page article in which Mr. Picard claimed it would be possible for humans to fly to Mars with balloons as early as 1954, if anyone was willing to invest $250,000.
Plastic balloons
In 1935 and 1936, to reduce weight and thus enabling a balloon to reach higher altitudes, plasticPlastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
balloon construction began independently by Max Cosyns
Max Cosyns
Max Cosyns was a Belgian physicist, inventor and explorer.He was Auguste Piccard's assistant at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and on 18 August 1932 participated in the record-breaking ascent into the stratosphere to 16,200 m , launched from Dübendorf, Switzerland...
in Belgium, Erich Regener
Erich Regener
Erich Rudolf Alexander Regener was a German physicist known primarily for the design and construction of instruments to measure cosmic ray intensity at various altitudes....
in Germany, and Thomas H. Johnson and Jean Piccard, then at the Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
Bartol Research Foundation in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Swarthmore is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Swarthmore was originally named Westdale in honor of noted painter Benjamin West, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to Swarthmore after the establishment of Swarthmore College...
. Johnson suggested cellophane
Cellophane
Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria and water makes it useful for food packaging...
to Jean Piccard.
Piccard with his wife co-invented the plastic balloon and he designed and in 1936 flew a cellophane balloon built by his students. The balloon was unmanned, 25 feet wide, and made of tapered 33-foot gores and one-inch 3M
3M
3M Company , formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation based in Maplewood, Minnesota, United States....
Scotch
Scotch Tape
Scotch Tape is a brand name used for certain pressure sensitive tapes manufactured by 3M as part of the company's Scotch brand.- History :The precursor to the current tapes was developed in the 1930s in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Richard Drew to seal a then-new transparent material known as...
transparent tape. Jean Barnhill, Harold Larson and Lloyd Schumacher cut the gores that fit together like an "orange peel." Harold Hatlestad built the radio equipment and Robert Silliman built the telemeter that sent temperature and pressure data back. Robert Hatch and Silliman maintained radio contact from a station on the roof of the university armory until the radio's battery froze from insufficient insulation. The balloon floated at 50,000 feet, and in ten hours traveled over 600 miles to near Huntsville, Arkansas
Huntsville, Arkansas
Huntsville is a city in mountainous Madison County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,046 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Madison County. During the American Civil War it was the site of what became known as the Huntsville Massacre...
.
Cluster balloons
Developed with John Ackerman of the University of Minnesota and piloted by Jean Piccard in 1937 in Rochester, MinnesotaRochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
, the first multi-celled balloon was called The Pleiades and was made of 98 latex rubber balloons. In a letter to Robert Gray of the Dewey and Almy Chemical Co. later published in Time magazine, Piccard describes how he broke balloons with a hunting knife and revolver to control his descent. A TNT charge released the cluster as he expected but sent burning excelsior
Excelsior (wood wool)
Wood wool, known primarily as excelsior in North America, is a product made of wood slivers cut from logs and is mainly used in packaging, for cooling pads in home evaporative cooling systems known as swamp coolers, for erosion control mats, and as a raw material for the production of other...
down that destroyed the first Pleiades. He suggested to Gray that rock wool
Mineral wool
Mineral wool, mineral fibers or man-made mineral fibers are fibers made from natural or synthetic minerals or metal oxides. The latter term is generally used to refer solely to synthetic materials including fiberglass, ceramic fibers and stone wool...
in place of excelsior would prevent similar accidents in the future.
Balloon research stopped for the most part during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In February 1946 with Otto C. Winzen
Otto C. Winzen
Otto C. Winzen was a German - American aeronautics engineer who made significant advances in the materials and construction of balloons after World War II....
, Jean Piccard proposed manned flight to the US Navy using clustered balloons made of thin plastic. In June the Office of Naval Research approved Project Helios and that year General Mills
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
and the University of Minnesota contracted to build a cluster of 100 polyethylene
Polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...
balloons for atmospheric research. Helios was designed to reach 100,000 feet for ten hours with a payload of instruments.
Jean Piccard helped Winzen design the Skyhook
Skyhook balloon
Skyhook balloons were balloons developed by Otto C. Winzen and General Mills, Inc., and used by the United States Navy Office of Naval Research in the late 1940s and in the 1950s for atmospheric research, especially for constant-level meteorological observations at very high altitudes...
polyethylene balloons that replaced Project Helios in 1947. Skyhook balloons were used unmanned for atmospheric research by the Navy and for manned flights by the US Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Later Jean Piccard developed electronics for emptying ballast bags.
Piccard died on January 28, 1963 (his 79th birthday) in Minneapolis.
Piccard family
- Jules Piccard (professor of chemistry)
- Auguste PiccardAuguste PiccardAuguste Antoine Piccard was a Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer.-Biography:Piccard and his twin brother Jean Felix were born in Basel, Switzerland...
(physicist, aeronaut, balloonist, hydronaut)- Jacques PiccardJacques PiccardJacques Piccard was a Swiss oceanographer and engineer, known for having developed underwater vehicles for studying ocean currents. He was one of only two people, along with Lt...
(hydronaut)- Bertrand PiccardBertrand PiccardBertrand Piccard is a Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist.Born in Lausanne, Vaud canton, Bertrand Piccard, along with Brian Jones, was the first to complete a non-stop balloon flight around the globe...
(aeronaut, balloonist)
- Bertrand Piccard
- Jacques Piccard
- Jean Felix Piccard (organic chemist, aeronaut, and balloonist)
- Jeannette PiccardJeannette PiccardJeannette Ridlon Piccard was an American high-altitude balloonist, and in later life an Episcopal priest. She held the women's altitude record for nearly three decades, and according to several contemporaneous accounts was regarded as the first woman in space.Jeannette was the first licensed...
(wife of Jean Felix) (aeronaut and balloonist)- Don PiccardDon PiccardDonald Louis Piccard is an American balloonist.The son of Jean Felix Piccard and Jeannette Piccard, Don Piccard first flew in a balloon in 1933, when he was enlisted as "crew" by his mother, the first woman to fly to the edge of space. He served as a balloon and airship rigger in the U. S...
(balloonist)
- Don Piccard
- Jeannette Piccard
- Auguste Piccard