Humans began the physical exploration of space during the 20th century with the advent of high altitude balloon flights, followed by manned rocket launches.

The balloons are maneuvered by adjusting their altitude to float to a wind layer after identifying the wind layer with the desired speed and direction using wind data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Such data is collected through surface based monitoring networks aircraft and balloon based measurements in the lower atmosphere and, increasingly, space based satellite observations.

The Spanish Army air arm, however, took off formally in 1909 when Colonel Pedro Vives and Captain Alfredo Kindelán made an official trip to different European cities to check the potential of introducing airships and airplanes in the Spanish Armed Forces.

MEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS Imagine that the arguments triggered by the Hindenberg disaster were about the fire extinguishers and parachutes that airships should carry, rather than about the design flaws that might cause them to ignite.