Lowe continued with his scientific endeavors and avocation to make a transatlantic flight via the high-altitude winds later known as the jet stream. In 1859 Lowe began the construction of a mammoth balloon to be named the "City of New York". Meanwhile, he espoused the theory of transatlantic flight to many who had stock market interests in Europe. The recently laid transatlantic cable had failed, and sea travel was undependably slow. He amassed supporters from all corners of the business and scientific communities, in particular one Prof. Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian Institution, who wrote: