Cactus Club

89,000 feet up to shoot Venus!

Brother Charles and Pilot fly up in a balloon

Dr. Charles B. Moore

My older brother has spent a lifetime studying severe weather. The one exploit that intrigues me the most is his balloon trip in the fall of 1959. He and Malcolm Ross took off in a balloon from Rapid City, SD on a mission to photograph the planet Venus at the edge of Earth’s vapor envelope.

They flew to 89,000 feet, the highest any human being had gone at that time. LIFE MAGAZINE covered this with an extensive story. I will display some of LIFE’s photos here and add some of his other accomplishments.
Charlie was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Physics at New Mexico Tech. You can view this momentous occasion at http://www.ee.nmt.edu/~langmuir/moore_pics.html

Slideshow

Dr. Chalres B. Moore, Jr.. He developed a way of treating plastic so that it could withstand frigid temps. He and his fellow scientists designed and built Langmuir Lab for the study of lighning. (They learned that a blunt lightning rod is better!). They tested many theories...far more than I can relate. But I will add more
photos and information as time goes by!
That's my brother!. Here he is testing the new plastic by sitting in a chair as it is lifted to the sky. Literally "sitting down on the job".
Charles B.. He was my hero. When this photo was taken he was Chairman of Langmuir Lab which they built in New Mexico to study storms, lightning and weather.
Dr. Charles B. Moore. Found this photo of brother Charles being honored at New Mexico Tech. with an Honorary Doctorate. I'm very proud of him and his accomplishments. "(At 89,000 feet above the earth's surface I think he had really gotten up in this world.)"

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