New Mexico, and Albuquerque in particular, has long been a center of ballooning activity beginning with the Park Van Tassel balloon ascension in 1882. Another early flight was Roy A. Stamm's flight over Albuquerque in 1909. Nearly 750 hot air balloons participate each year in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, reported to be the world's most widely photographed spectator event.

Holloman AFB, Alamogordo, served for years as headquarters for balloon-based experiments that helped gain scientific knowledge and solve technical problems in the upper atmosphere and in space. Among notable achievements: a 102,800-foot parachute jump from a balloon by Joe Kittinger in 1960, still a world record four decades later.


In more recent times, New Mexicans led by Ben Abruzzo and Maxie Anderson have been in the forefront of long-distance manned ballooning, making the first crossing of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the North American continent. Yet another New Mexican, Ed Yost, is known as the father of modern hot air ballooning for his invention of the variable gas valve.

While the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum celebrates the accomplishments of these and other New Mexicans, its charter is international in scope, with a reach that spans the many note-worthy adventures and achievements through out ballooning's entire history. Interactive exhibits, a balloon ride with simulation, historic facts, and media presentations of all types will tell this story.

Links
Albuquerque Aerostat Ascension Association (AAAA)
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Balloon Federation of America
Battle Creek Hot-Air Balloon Championships
Great Reno Balloon Race
National Balloon Classic
New Jersey Festival of Ballooning