Balloon Ascension Day 2024: Date, History and Facts

Balloon Ascension Day commemorates the first crewed balloon flight in America, attended by President George Washington, who provided a letter outlining the balloonist's mission.

Balloon Ascension Day is an annual event held on January 9 to celebrate the first crewed balloon flight in America. President George Washington, a supporter of aviation pioneers, attended the first balloon ascent event. The tales of the Frenchman who invented hot air ballooning enthralled him, and he was eager to help him in doing so in America. The balloonist, who did not understand English, benefited enormously from this when he landed on American soil with a letter from Washington outlining his mission.

BALLOON ASCENSION DAY’S HISTORY

Balloon Ascension Day is an annual festival intended to honor Jean-Paul Blanchard’s great accomplishment. He was a French aeronaut and inventor who made the first crewed balloon journey in America in 1793. He is widely considered as the father of balloon flight. Balloon Ascension Day was established on January 9, the same date he took to the skies in 1793.

Blanchard was outside the Walnut Street Prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the first crewed balloon journey in America. A great crowd gathered to watch him ascend and fly his hydrogen-filled gas balloon 200 fathoms or 1,200 feet above the earth, including President George Washington. Since 2011, this day has been commemorated to remember the first crewed balloon flight in the United States, as well as to stimulate participation and interest in the subject of aeronautics.

Since there were few means for Blanchard to guide his balloon, his 1793 balloon flight lasted only 46 minutes. Due to a burst of wind, he had to persuade local farmers to help him travel back to Philadelphia.

This is not only regarded America’s first airborne voyage; it is also acknowledged to have helped reinforce the United States’ status as a country of outstanding scientific advances and innovation. On National Balloon Ascension Days, we are expected to face our concerns and fly in a hot air balloon. Watch others fly in a hot air balloon for the first time or take lovely selfies for social media.

Balloons Around the World Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about Hot Air Balloon

5 FACTS ABOUT HOT AIR BALLOONS YOU SHOULD KNOW

A French plane flew above Philadelphia Prison.

The balloon of French aeronaut Jean Pierre Blanchard flew over Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Prison.

Its engine is what keeps it together.

Hot air balloons are also known as blimps, and their motor provides them with directed flying and speed.

Several catastrophic situations have occurred.

Several disasters involving hot air balloons have occurred, including the Hindenburg disaster, in which over a third of the 97 people died when the balloon caught fire.