<p>The Breitling Orbiter 3 was the first balloon to fly around the world non-stop.  This is the gondola, on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
</p><p>The Breitling Orbiter 3 was the third of three balloons piloted by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones.  Both prior attempts to fly around the world ended in crashes.  Its balloon was 180 feet high when inflated.  Propane gas was used to heat the air, and these 28 propane cylinders were attached to both sides of the gondola (you can see them in this photo).  The balloon was a Rozière balloon, which means that a central core gas bag of helium was surrounded by an outer gas bag of hot air.  The helium bag was filled about halfway to capacity.  As the craft rose, the lack of surrounding air pressure as well as heating by the Sun caused the helium to expand -- filling the gas bag to 100 percent of capacity, and causing the gondola to rise.
</p><p>The gondola was made of Kevlar and a carbon fiber material.  The cabin remained open until the balloon reached 6,000 (to allow for air pressure drops.  It was then sealed, and a nitrogen/oxygen mix used to augment the air inside it.  Carbon dioxide scrubbers removed the CO2 from the sealed cabin.  The gondola had solar panels underneath it, which generated power for the satellite GPS system and radio.
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Piccard and Jones took off from Switzerland on March 1, 1999, and landed in Egypt on March 21, 1999.  They traveled 25,361 miles.
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/23165290@N00">Tim Evanson</a> from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, USA
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/timevanson/7275641372/">Breitling Orbiter 3 - Smithsonian Air and Space Museum - 2012-05-15</a>