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First Unmanned Balloon Ascension (1784)
On June 17, 1784, the first documented balloon ascension in America took place in a field near the town of Bladensburg. The man responsible for this remarkable event was an enterprising Prince George's County innkeeper and lawyer named Peter Carnes. Carnes conducted the balloon ascension as a public exhibition. It was originally intended to be a tethered, manned ascent, but while the balloon was being brought closer to town for the exhibition, a gust of wind blew the passenger basket against a fence and damaged it severely. Because of this mishap, it was unsafe for anyone to go aloft with the balloon, so a tethered, unmanned balloon ascent took place instead. However, one week later Carnes conducted another public exhibition of his balloon. This time the location was Baltimore, and the tethered balloon was sent aloft with a 13 year-old boy as a passenger. |