WORLD : Pacific Balloon Crossing Planned
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LONDON — Pop music tycoon Richard Branson announced ambitious plans today to make the last great balloon crossing--a nonstop voyage across the Pacific Ocean in the biggest hot-air balloon ever built.
Branson, whose attempt to fly a balloon across the Atlantic in 1987 ended when he was forced to ditch in the Irish Sea, said the 6,200-mile crossing is ballooning’s last great challenge.
“The only place left to have a go at is the Pacific. It is double the length of the Atlantic and, in ballooning terms, it is the last great challenge,” he told a news conference.
Branson’s balloon, Pacific Flier, is 200 feet tall and has been under construction in secret for the last 18 months.
It will take off from southern Japan about Nov. 15 and ride 210-m.p.h. winds at an altitude of about 33,000 feet. It is expected to land on the West Coast of the United States four or five days later.
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