From the May 19, 1934, issue

CHEMICAL FROM WELLS MAKES SHIP OF THE SKY

Pictured on the front cover of this week’s Science News Letter is the metal sphere in which Major William E. Kepner and Captain Albert W. Stevens, Army balloonists, will attempt to soar to new stratosphere heights under auspices of the National Geographic Society.

The gondola is made from alloy, of which 95 percent is pure magnesium, a chemical recovered from the brine of oil wells.