PRESCOTT JOURNAL MINER, Prescott, Arizona, May 28, 1931

* 1st balloon flight into the stratosphere
* Auguste Piccard & Paul Kipfer

This 6 page newspaper has a nice seven column headline on the front page: "TWO BALLOONISTS ARE BELIEVED DEAD"
with subheads (see images). 1st report coverage of the very 1st balloon flight to reach the stratosphere. They would eventually land safely.

Other news, sports and advertisements of the day. Light browning, a little spine wear, otherwise good condition.

wikipedia notes: In 1930, an interest in ballooning, and a curiosity about the upper atmosphere led him to design a spherical, pressurized aluminum gondola that would allow ascent to great altitude without requiring a pressure suit. Supported by the Belgian Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) Piccard constructed his gondola.

On May 27, 1931, Auguste Piccard and Paul Kipfer took off from Augsburg, Germany, and reached a record altitude of 15,785 m (51,775 ft). During this flight, Piccard was able to gather substantial data on the upper atmosphere, as well as measure cosmic rays.