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Balloonist eyes long shot route to Alaska
January 19, 1997
Web posted at: 9:50 EST (0250 GMT)In this story:
CHICAGO (CNN) -- It's still up in the air for Steve Fossett, the American seeking to circumnavigate the globe alone in a balloon.
"We are not sure that he is going to land today," Bo Kemper, the project manager, said Sunday.
Earlier Sunday, another member of Fossett's team said they would abandon their original goal of traveling around the world and would set down somewhere in Asia before venturing across the Pacific.
"We plan to land along the east coast of India, south of Calcutta," Bruce Comstock, the project's technical co-director, said earlier Sunday.
Three days of fuel
As of 6 p.m ET, Fossett was over India and was considering alternate routes across the Pacific. "We have about three days of fuel left," said Kemper. "We are not sure that Steve is going to decide to put down on the ground."
Kemper said there was "a very slim chance" that Fossett could get across the Pacific into Alaska.
"One of the things that we are looking at is to see if he can get to the Pacific Ocean through Bangladesh and other countries and try to get him to that coast," Kemper said. "Steve is in charge of the flight. He's the pilot."
High hopes dashed
Fossett took off from St. Louis' Busch Stadium on Monday amid high hopes that he would circle the globe. But those hopes were dampened late last week when Libya stalled in granting Fossett permission to cross its airspace.
After detouring to the south, Fossett was finally able to cut across Libya's southern tip on Friday, but the maneuverings cost the balloonist both time and fuel, Kemper said.
In addition to his dwindling fuel supply, Fossett is suffering from extreme discomfort. Kemper said that heaters inside the cabin -- where temperatures ranged from zero to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 C to -12 C) -- don't work above 24,000 feet (7,315 meters), Fossett's minimum daytime altitude to catch faster jet stream winds.
"He's real uncomfortable," Kemper said Saturday.
Related stories:
- Balloonist soars over Libya en route to India - January 18, 1997
- Libya changes mind, will allow balloonist to pass - January 17, 1997
- Balloonist denied passage over Libya - January 17, 1997
- U.S. balloonist nears African coast - January 16, 1997
- Balloonist alters flight route, can't fly over Russia - January 15, 1997
Related sites:
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- Fossett Updates
- About Steve Fossett
- Transglobal balloon challenger
- Balloon Life Magazine
- Hot Air Balloon FAQ
- A Brief History of Ballooning
- Virgin Global Challenger
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