Similar projects were also afoot elsewhere.
Osoaviakhim-1 by Russian painter Georgy Bibikov.
The national Meteorology Committee was preparing a third balloon.
On September 30, 1933, the USSR-1 lifted off and the crew attained an altitude of 60,698 feet.
Osoaviakhim-1 measured 24,940 cubic meters in volume and weighed 2,460 kilograms fully loaded.
For instance, the crew’s supposed contingency plan involved bailing out using personal parachutes in case of emergency.
Additionally, the absence of pressure suits and individual breathing apparatus rendered bailing out at high altitudes impractical.
The gondola itself was constructed by welding thin sheet metal without the reinforcement of a structural frame.
In the event of an emergency, the crew would be unable to expel ballast swiftly to decelerate descent.
Andrey Vasenko himself was on the flight in the capacity of flight engineer.
Osoaviakhim-1 prepares to ascend.
Osoaviakhim-1 lifted off on the morning of January 30 from the Air Forces airfield in Kuntsevo.
At this critical juncture, the crew should have initiated the descent, returning safely to Earth.
However, Fedoseenko, insisted on pushing upward.
Now hovering at 20,500 meters, the crew reached a moment later marked as the point of no return.
At 20,500 meters Osoaviakhim-1 carried just enough ballast to stabilize descent speed.
Further ascent and inevitable loss of hydrogen made this ballast insufficient.
Their only hope lay in bailing out using personal parachutes, provided they could kick off the awkward hatch.
After nearly an hour at 20,600 meters, Osoaviakhim-1 climbed again, reaching 22,000 meters.
The air in the stratosphere is a thousand times thinner than it is at sea level.
As a result, temperature in the stratosphere rises as one moves upward.
The crew of Osoaviakhim-1 would have been familiar with the unique atmospheric conditions of the stratosphere.
However, what they may not have anticipated was the rapid heating of the hydrogen gas inside their balloon.
After spending 12 minutes at the highest altitude, the crew opened the gas release valve to initiate descent.
As the balloon cooled down on its descent, the remaining gas contracted with a catastrophic loss of buoyancy.
At 12,000 meters, vertical acceleration went out of control and the balloon began to disintegrate.
All three occupants were killed by the high speed impact.
The crashed gondola of Osoaviakhim-1
Stalin turned the disaster into a propaganda campaign.
Across the country, streets and squares were named in their honor and postage stamps were issued.
He also demanded an overhaul of safety procedures and features for all future balloon flights.
The crash also provided motivation to develop pressure suits for high-altitude flight.
The first operational suits were designed by Evgeniy Chertovsky, co-designer of Osoaviakhim-1.
Postage stamp issued in 1934 featuring the three deceased pilots.
Despite the improvements, disasters and failures continued to plague the Soviet balloon program.
Two of the crew members bailed out, but the third managed to land the crippled balloon safely.
In October 12, 1939 a static discharge at 9,000 meters ignited the hydrogen in SP-2 Komsomol.
But the crew managed to escape by bailing out.
In June 22, 1940, the last Soviet manned stratostat, Osoaviakhim-2, was launched.
After this failure, the military shut down the stratospheric program.
