Balloon Boys

Science World, May 10, 1999 by Michael Cannell

On March 19, 1999, two adventurers floated into history and shattered one of explorations last great records. Bertrand Piccard, 41, of Switzerland, and Brian Jones, 51, of the United Kingdom, became the first pilots to ever fly a balloon nonstop around the world.

After weeks of frustrating delays due to bad weather, their balloon, Breitling Orbiter 3, lifted off on March 1 from Chateau-d'Oex (sha-TOE-deh) in the Swiss Alps. The pilots cruised southwest to North Africa to hitch a ride on the jet stream, a wind current at an altitude of about 9,114 meters (30,000 feet) above Earth's surface that flows west to east. Blowing at speeds up to 322 km/h (200 mph), the jet stream carried the balloon 46,759 kilometers (29,056 miles) in 19 days, 21 hours and 47 minutes. Orbiter 3 crossed the finish line over Mauritania (see map, left). "I am with the angels and just completely happy," Piccard exclaimed upon landing in the Sahara Desert.

Since 1981, more than 20 attempts to circle the globe in a balloon have failed (see SW 11/16/98). Orbiter 3 may have gotten its extra boost from technology. The balloon was fueled by a high-tech blend of hot air and gas (see diagram, right). Its cramped 8-by-9-ft (2.4-by-2.7-m) cabin was stocked not only with bunk and toilet, but with desks, fax, and satellite phones. With no steering wheel, the pilots relied on helium (the second lightest gas) and hot air trapped in the balloon to maneuver between altitudes and find smooth-sailing winds--like surfers trying to catch the perfect wave.

Jet streams can divide into branches without warning, carrying a balloon far off course. But the Orbiter pilots were guided by meteorologists (weather scientists) on the ground using advanced computer models and sophisticated satellite data of the Earth's hour-to-hour wind patterns.

Still, the trip was no picnic. The pilots lived on freeze-dried food rations and rarely slept. At one point they had to reach outside to chip off ice that had formed on cables, which threatened to crash the balloon. At 9,144 m (30,000 ft) the outside temperature is 40 [degrees] F (-40 [degrees] C). Throughout the historic trip, meteorologists helped navigate the pilots around storms, unruly winds, and stagnant air. "The navigation was like a jigsaw puzzle," says flight director Alan Noble. "We finally managed to pull it all together."

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