Fossett, low on fuel, tries Pacific crossing
Mission control to evaluate his chances of reaching N. America
 |  Project Manager Paul Moore talks to Steve Fossett, on screen, during a news conference Wednesday. |
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 Fossett: Attempt could be "one of the most difficult flights ever."
 Adventurer Steve Fossett launches his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.
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(CNN) -- Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett will attempt to cross the Pacific Ocean and reach Hawaii despite a fuel shortage detected by mission control early Wednesday.
Only a few hours after lifting off from Salina, Kansas, on Monday, Fossett's aircraft, the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, suddenly lost 2,600 pounds of fuel.
"We are confident now that the source of the leak is gone," said Jon Karkow of Scaled Composites, which designed the aircraft.
Mission manager Paul Moore added that flight technicians also are confident the aircraft took off with a full tank of gas and that the fuel was lost in flight.
"I'm hopeful that this is all going to work out," Fossett told the media as he made preparations to cross the Pacific.
Fossett is attempting a solo, nonstop global flight without refueling.
Once the plane is over Hawaii, expected by late Wednesday, the fuel will be assessed again to determine if there is enough to make it to the west coast of North America.
Managers say the fuel is tight and it is too early to tell if he will be able to make it back to Salina.
As of 3 p.m. ET Wednesday, Fossett was over the Pacific on his way to Hawaii with 4,500 pounds of fuel remaining.
Fossett has been in flight for more than 40 hours. He indicated that he was comfortable and had been able to take a few naps lasting about three minutes each.
Moore said conditions had been favorable, with strong tailwinds of about 100 knots moving the aircraft quicker than expected.
Fossett has proved himself to be a modern-day Magellan, who circumnavigated the globe in 1519-21. In 2002, he became the first solo balloonist to circle the globe nonstop, despite an on-board fire and dangerous winds. Two years later, he and his crew made the fastest circumnavigation on a sailing ship: 58 days.
The GlobalFlyer consists of three hulls attached to a 35-meter (114-foot) wing that measures more than half the wingspan of a Boeing 747. Twin "boom" hulls on either side of the cockpit hull each carry almost 2,500 kilograms (5,500 pounds) of fuel.
Atop the plane's 7-foot cockpit is a single jet engine, which will propel the aircraft throughout its 40,234 kilometer (25,000-mile) trek.
The first nonstop global flight without refueling was made in 1986 by Jeana Yeager and Dick Rutan, brother of GlobalFlyer designer Burt Rutan.
Last year, Burt Rutan led the first manned commercial flight to reach the edge of space. Rutan's SpaceShipOne won his team the $10 million X Prize, an award from a nonprofit foundation aimed at spurring civilian space flight.
