Naval Men on Vessel with Balloons to Launch into the Atmosphere

(Original Caption) Fort Geomagnetic Pole....Balloons Take Off In Radiation Test. Naval personnel aboard the Icebreaker U. S. S. Staten island (Left Photo), assemble a group of plastic balloons which are used to send scientific equipment into the upper reaches for cosmic radiation tests at the North Magnetic Pole. Civilian Scientists and the Atomic Energy Commission assisted the Navy in this important research project. At right, a 55-foot plastic balloon (Skyhook) carries a "Deacon" rocket into the upper reaches after being launched from the platform of the Navy Icebreaker. After reaching an altitude of approximately 70,000 feet, a firing mechanism below the rocket releases it and sends it many miles higher, where it collects Cosmic Radiated Data.