Balloons were used in ma's first successful attempts of flying. In 1783, Joseph and Jacques Etienne, Montgolfier brothers, French paper manufacturers at Annonay, France, discovered that a fabric bag filled with hot air would rise. On June 5 of that year, they launched the first balloon flight in history, unmanned. The craft carried about a mile and a half away. At Versailles, they repeated the experiment, with a larger balloon on Sept. 19, 1783, sending a sheep, a rooster and a duck aloft as the first air passengers. On Nov 21, the first manned flight took place when Jean-Francois Laurent, marquis d' Arlandes, sailed over Paris, covering 5,1/2 miles in about 23 minutes. Balloons have proved enormously valuable in meteorology and other sciences. Balloons have played and important role during the wartime for taking a view of the enemy's Army, works etc. to that of sending signals. Balloons were also used for the first time in history to transport mail by air in as early as 1808, in Denmark.

Firat balloon flight has led to the flights to the moon and the stars. Ballooning in India dates back to as early as 1877, when Mr. Joseph Lynn made several flights in a gas balloon in Bombay and later in 1889 when Mr. Percivial Spencer made an ascent in his balloon 'Empress of India' from the Race Course in Calcutta. But hot air ballooning in India developed and continued only after the efforts of Shri Vishwa Bandhu Gupta when the 'Ballooning Club of India' was founded on 23rd November 1970, by the American Astronaut Neil Armstrong.

The Indian Balloon team led by Shri Gupta, participated in the world hot air balloon championships, at Nantes, France, for the first time in 1983.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India