Pacific Balloon Launch

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Balloon pilots Troy Bradley and Leonid Tiukhtyaev have put on hold their preparations to launch their helium balloon in Japan today to cross the Pacific Ocean. The team says the winds are favorable for inflation and launch, but too slow to carry the balloonists across the Pacific to the California coast within their available time frame.

The team hopes to fly for up to 10 days, landing in Albuquerque or beyond, to set new records for distance and duration in their category of aircraft. They will continue to monitor the weather data and still could decide to launch today or later this week, or could decide to wait.The launch window for the flight permits a launch as late as Feb. 20.

The balloon envelope, which is 141 feet tall, will be filled with 350,000 cubic feet of helium. The craft will carry more than 11,000 pounds of sand for ballast, packed in 40-pound bags. During the flight, the team can control altitude by offloading ballast to climb or venting helium to descend. The two pilots will travel inside a lightweight capsule.The flight preparations arestreaming live onlineat the team’s website.

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