Mark VII

Mark VII

Rapid design and development followed some fabrication technique breakthroughs in 2016. By May 2017 an entirely new suit was completed and tested on the ground; it again features lower weight, lower cost, simpler manufacturing with fewer seams, an improved flameproof coverall, another iteration of our home-built soft helmets, and an experimental stress-distributing system designed to accommodate the standing position in which we fly our balloon — a unique posture in aviation, one we share with the project Apollo lunar module!

Photo: Dr. Smith in the Mark VII during a photo shoot for CNN in Spring, 2017.