1897 - S. A. Andree's Arctic Balloon Expedition of 1897, Jesup North Pacific Expedition, List of State Leaders in 1897, 1897 (Paperback)

Chapters: S. A. Andree's Arctic Balloon Expedition of 1897, Jesup North Pacific Expedition, List of State Leaders in 1897, 1897 in Poetry, List of Sovereign States in 1897, Korea Royal Refuge at the Russian Legation, List of Religious Leaders in 1897, 1897 in Art, 1897 in Organized Crime, 1897 in Science, List of Ship Commissionings in 1897, 1897 in Paleontology, List of Colonial Governors in 1897, 1897 in Archaeology, List of Ship Launches in 1897, 1897 in Anthropology. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 82. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: S. A. Andree's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 was an ill-fated effort to reach the North Pole in which all three expedition members perished. S. A. Andree (185497), the first Swedish balloonist, proposed a voyage by hydrogen balloon from Svalbard to either Russia or Canada, which was to pass, with luck, straight over the North Pole on the way. The scheme was received with patriotic enthusiasm in Sweden, a northern nation that had fallen behind in the race for the North Pole. Andree neglected many early signs of the dangers associated with his balloon plan. Being able to steer the balloon to some extent was essential for a safe journey, and there was plenty of evidence that the drag-rope steering technique he had invented was ineffective; yet he staked the fate of the expedition on drag ropes. Worse, the polar balloon Ornen (Eagle) was delivered directly to Svalbard from its manufacturer in Paris without being tested; when measurements showed it to be leaking more than expected, Andree refused to acknowledge the alarming implications of this. Most modern students of the expedition see Andree's optimism, faith in the power of technology, and disregard for the forces of nature as the main factors in the series of events that led to his death and...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=4188548