Troubled Balloonist Reaches Atlantic

An adventurer trying to be the first to circle Earth in a balloon reached the Atlantic coast Tuesday after a cold first night with a cranky space heater that almost forced him to abandon the flight.

“We’re off into the Atlantic,” Steve Fossett radioed from above Virginia. His course was likely to take him to Spain, spokesman Bo Kemper said from the expedition’s headquarters at Loyola University of Chicago.

He said Fossett, 51, spent a troubled night after his cabin heater, fueled by a propane mixture, went out for three hours. He got it working, Kemper said, adding: “This is a critical piece of merchandise. Had it not worked there was discussion of possibly aborting the mission.”

Fossett, who made a fortune as a soybean trader in Chicago, began his journey early Monday near Rapid City, S.D. He became the first person to cross the Pacific Ocean solo in a balloon last year and hopes to make the global journey in 16 to 21 days. The trip’s progress can be tracked on the Internet at https://www.luc.edu.

Fossett’s mylar-sheathed balloon holds helium and hot air in separate chambers. He will usually float at 18,000 feet to 22,000 feet.