The huge bag rose groggily about 10 ft. It wobbled sideways across the airdrome , but not an inch higher would it go . The ground crew dragged the bag back ; part of the heavy apparatus was unloaded . Still no luck . After two hours of struggle , Air Commander Garankidze wearily ordered : " De - flate . " Next attempt to launch '' USSR-1 '' was scheduled on September 30 , 1933 ; '' Osoaviakhim-1 '' was prepared to fly from Kuntsevo later on the same day . Unlike previous attempts , when the balloon was filled from pressurized tanks , this time hydrogen was stored in " elephants " – auxiliary balloons ( 120 cubic meters each ) , that , like real animals , were led to the field on leashes . At about 06:00 Moscow time the envelope was filled with 3 thousand cubic meters of hydrogen , or 1/8 of the balloon 's geometric capacity . At stratospheric altitudes , this amount would have expanded to fill the whole envelope
Osoaviakhim-1
Osoaviakhim-1
USSR-1