She completed her first solo balloon flight on June 16, 1934. Later that year, the National Aeronautic Association of America certified her as the country’s first female licensed balloon pilot. Jeannette later served as a NASA consultant from 1964 to 1970 and became a speaker for NASA.

When Sophie Blanchard crashed to her death while flying a balloon, a critic famously remarked, “A woman in a balloon is either out of her element or too high in it.” That was 1809. Since then women have routinely shown that they can fly practically anything, balloons included. And Jeannette Piccard was in her element in a balloon, climbing higher than any other woman before had.

Born in Chicago on January 5, 1895, Jeannette Ridlon Piccard was an American teacher and scientist and a pioneer of balloon flight. She had a lifelong interest in science and religion. She was a worthy member of the renowned Piccard family of balloonists, not by birth but by marriage. She met Jean Piccard at the University of Chicago where he taught and from where she got her master’s degree. They were among a handful of people with scientific knowledge of stratosphere problems. The 1920s and 1930s witnessed intense competition to reach the stratosphere by balloon. Auguste Piccard (Jean’s twin brother) reached 51,783 feet and 53,152 feet in 1931 and 1932.

Before the advent of heavierthan-air flight, balloons (and later airships) were the main means of aviation. Ballooning was dangerous partly because hydrogen, then used as a lifting gas, is highly flammable, and partly because of human physiological limitations. As balloonists climb, they encounter two major hazards—oxygen deprivation and reduced atmospheric pressure. At 30,000 feet, loss of consciousness can occur in less than a minute without extra oxygen. Even with additional oxygen, ascending between 40,000 feet and 50,000 feet without a pressurised cabin (or at least a pressure suit) is to flirt with death. Due to reduced air pressure, the lungs cannot function and gases begin to bubble out of the blood. Many intrepid balloonists had close shaves and there were some tragic accidents.

Jeannette Piccard completed her first solo balloon flight on June 16, 1934. Later that year, the National Aeronautic Association of America certified her as the country’s first female licensed balloon pilot. The Piccard couple soon planned a flight to the stratosphere. Jean would concentrate on experiments and Jeannette would be the pilot. The “Century of Progress”—a balloon constructed for the World’s Fair held in Chicago in 1933 to celebrate the city’s centennial—was their craft. It was the largest balloon in the world—105 feet wide and 6,00,000 cubic feet in volume. It took 700 hydrogen cylinders to fill. The gondola was designed by Auguste and Jean Piccard. The National Broadcasting Company and the Chicago Daily News sponsored the expedition. However, many people felt that a mother should not be taking such risks, and for this reason the National Geographic Society refused to back the flight.

However, all such reservations were forgotten on the morning of October 23, 1934. Around 45,000 spectators were at hand to witness the ascent from Ford Airport, Dearborn, Michigan. At 0651hrs, the couple and their pet turtle, Fleur de Lys, lifted off in the Century of Progress. They reached 57,579 ft (17,550 m) aloft, travelling eight hours, in a journey that took them over Lake Erie. Jeannette retained control of the balloon for the entire flight. They landed safely about 480 km away near Cadiz, Ohio, in a clump of trees. However, the balloon separated from the gondola and was ripped. With this feat, Jeannette became the first woman to successfully pilot a flight to the stratosphere. In the process, she set a new women’s altitude record, and held it for 29 years. At one time National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) even qualified the exploit as space travel and Jeannette was inducted in the International Space Hall of Fame. In fact, it took a spaceflight to break her record, when Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963. Nowadays, however, pilots are called astronauts only if they reach 80 km up into the mesosphere.