Daily News | Eleanor Vadala, pioneering materials engineer, astronomer, and hall of fame balloonist, has died at 99
Eleanor Vadala, 99, of Bala Cynwyd, pioneering materials engineer at the now-defunct Naval Air Development Center, former astronomer at the Franklin Institute, hall of fame balloonist, chemist, lecturer, and teacher, died Wednesday, July 19, of congestive heart failure at her home.
She took her first balloon flight in 1954, became the third woman to earn a balloon pilot’s certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration in 1963, and was inducted into the U.S. Ballooningin 2019. She was the first secretary of the Balloon Federation of America and was on board for 66 gas and hot air flights around the world between 1954 and 1973.
Her ballooning exploits were covered often by The Inquirer and other publications, and she even made her own telescopes. Her niece-in-law, Helen, said: “She attained whatever she reached for and never looked back.” She was a deacon at Narberth Presbyterian Church, read constantly, and liked to work on puzzles. She traveled the world with family and friends, and they still talk about the memorable trips to Canada she arranged to watch eclipses of the sun and moon.
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