Military
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On June 18, 1861, T.S.C. Lowe made a tethered observation flight in his gas-filled balloon Enterprise from the National Mall in front of the site where the National Air and Space Museum now stands. During the flight, he sent the first telegram ever dispatched from the air to President Lincoln at the White House, describing what could be seen from an altitude of 500 feet. The ascent marked the beginning of an observation balloon corps for the U.S. Army, the first American military aeronautical unit, and the birth of aerial reconnaissance in the United States.
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Washington, District of Columbia · United States
