This is the first 1:35 scale miniature of the Explorer, Scientist, Physicist and Astronaut Auguste Piccard (Basel, January 28, 1884 - Lausanne, March 24, 1962) with the FNRS1 gondola.
Auguste Piccard is recognized by NASA as the first astronaut to have crossed the Stratosphere aboard a pressurized capsule. He invented this first gondola to study ionized states, cosmic rays and radioactivity in the atmosphere. It was designed in 1925 and performed the first experimental flight with his colleague Paul Kipfer. Due to a not too smooth landing, the FNRS was redesigned and fine-tuned; began a series of ascents with his brother Jean. In 1932 Auguste Piccard climbed to over 16,000m, Jean, a naturalized American, overcame it two years later by ballooning to 17,500m. Auguste is also famous for having built the first Battiscafo named Trieste together with his son. For this purpose he conceived the bathyscaphe as a submarine balloon: an elongated float, filled with liquid lighter than water (petrol), equipped with ballast (iron grains) and a circular cabin room.
 
 
Here are the technical details of the first pressurized gondola ever made in history
 
FNRS 1 balloon:
outer diameter: 30 meters
payload 1000 kg
Material: cotton and rubber
Fuel: Hydrogen
 
Sfera (Gondola):
outer diameter: 2.10 meters
empty weight: 136 kg
Crew: 2 men
Useful usage: 24 hours
casing thickness: 3.5 mm
Casing material: aluminum
Porthole: in glass
temperature on board during the ascent: -2 to + 40 ° C!
Gondola manufacturers: Georges L’Hoir, Liège
Internal equipment: Jacques Destappes, mechanic, Brussels
 
data taken from his diary and from the website https://bertrandpiccard.com/documents/FichePDF_balloon%20FNRS1_EN.pdf
 
 
 
 
 
The model is 1:35 scale NOT PAINTED
rails and trolley are not included.
The ball and the figure are included with all the pieces with the ballast bags in case you want to rebuild the ball.