STRATOSPHERIC PHOTOGRAPHY — SCHWARZCHILD 329 



persuaded to close again. In consequence the balloon with the tele- 

 scope descended more and more rapidly. Finally it became necessary 

 to cut (by another radio command) the balloon from the parachutes 

 and let the telescope come down to earth on the parachutes which are 

 always carried as a safety device. This type of landing is very much 

 rougher than direct landing by balloon. Nevertheless, by miraculous 

 luck the damage suffered by the whole instrument at landing was 

 quite modest and its repair less than a tenth of the total cost of the 

 instrument. 



It is obviously always a bit of a disappointment when a first flight 

 of a new instrument does not right away provide all the new ex- 

 citing scientific data of which theoretically it is capable. But this 

 dims little the pleasure that the new data, however limited, have given 

 us, and much increases our eagerness to correct the inadequacies of the 

 instrument and to get it ready for its next flight. 



I have sketched the story of Project Stratoscope up to its present 

 status. May I once more emphasize that Project Stratoscope is only 

 a small facet of the total space activity in this country. But even 

 this small facet clearly requires funds beyond the means of an individ- 

 ual university. Project Stratoscope has been sponsored by three Gov- 

 ernment agencies. Office of Naval Eesearch, National Science Foun- 

 dation, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. These 

 three agencies have in Project Stratoscope a remarkable record not 

 only in continuous effective cooperation with each other but also in 

 their persistence of giving us astronomers in Princeton the freedom to 

 make the scientific and teclmical decisions. 



Even with this strong financial and moral support from the Gov- 

 ernment, however, we astronomers in Princeton would still be incapa- 

 ble of carrying out the Stratoscope experiments if it were not for 

 the existence of daring engineers and the commercial firms to which 

 they belong who are ready to cast their lot for a good while into a 

 risky pioneering undertaking like Project Stratoscope. We astron- 

 omers may know the scientific problems which need attacking and 

 may understand what basic type of instrumentation is needed, but it 

 is the ingenious engineers who — in close and continuous contact with 

 us — design, build, and operate the entire equipment and thus make this 

 type of experiment possible. 



Of all the factors, however, which have to be favorable to make an 

 undertaking like Project Stratoscope possible, historically the most 

 remarkable seems to me the spirit prevalent at this time in this country 

 that gives us with enthusiasm the opportunity to proceed with an 

 endeavor that basically has an abstract scientific character and aim. 

 For an astronomer it is an incredibly wonderful time and place to 

 be alive. 



