Chicago Man to Finish 1st Solo Balloon Trip Round the World around 9:30-10:00 AM EST

Spirit of Freedom Media Advisory ^ | 2 July 2002 | Mission Control

[orrick]

Media Advisory

July 2, 2002

Steve Fossett is Anticipated to Cross Finish Line in his Round The World Quest

Steve Fossett is expected to successfully complete the first solo around the world balloon trip in the Bud Light Spirit of Freedom this morning once he crosses 117 degrees East longitude around 8:30 AM (CDT) Tuesday, July 2.

Team members from mission control at Washington University will discuss the historic event at a media conference.

Joe Ritchie, mission control director, is in charge of Mission Control at Washington University.

He maintains communication with the capsule and tracks its progress.

[orrick]

The problem is now that the winds are blowing him off the coast of Australia and he may have to land in Tasmania according to the weather news.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Watching it on Fox right now. Absolutely Awesome!!!!!

[Tennessee_Bob]

He just crossed the line!

[Musket]

Not to throw a wet blanket on this, but Don Wade of WLS-AM Chicago pointed out this morning that Steve is so far south that one could say he cheated.

[Constitution Day]

The problem is now that the winds are blowing him off the coast of Australia and he may have to land in Tasmania according to the weather news.

I hope he watches out for this guy! :)

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

[shadowman99]

How long did that take? The space shuttle orbits the globe in fourty minutes.

That map looks like he went on a bar crawl.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Not to throw a wet blanket on this, but Don Wade of WLS-AM Chicago pointed out this morning that Steve is so far south that one could say he cheated.

From the Reuters story on Yahoo!:

The Web Site said Fossett had traveled 19,191 miles, far enough to satisfy around-the-world ballooning rules, by 5:53 a.m. EDT on Tuesday.

Under the sport's international rules, a balloonist can not fly around the poles -- the shortest distance around the world -- but also it is not necessary to fly around the equator, a distance of 25,000 miles.

"The flight has to cross all meridians and has to be of a length that as a minimum is equal to half the equator length," says the Federation Aeronautique Internationale Web Site.

[Musket]

So how many miles is that compared to, oh, say the equator? One thing seems certain, he DID fly around Antarctica.

[Musket]

"The flight has to cross all meridians and has to be of a length that as a minimum is equal to half the equator length,"

Half? Half? Some rules. In my stupid little book he's still got some flying to do.

[Freeper 007]

#8 seems to put your concerns to rest. A standard created by the people who do this sort of thing exists, and he traveled approx. 7,000 more miles than he had to.

Only those who refuse to acknowledge the accomplishments of others could say that he cheated.

[Guillermo]

Not as if it matters, but, he went "around the world" like a tether ball would go around the world at the north pole.

[lonestar]

I'm happy for the guy but I hope this is his last trip.

When I win the lottery, I'm going around the world in a horse and buggy.

Crossing oceans, the horses will be trotting on a tread-mill. I will not cheat!

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

I would think there isn't enough wind in the equatorial region for sustained flight. Isn't that what they call the 'doldrums'? Now, I could theoretically envision a flight that, in a somewhat sinusoidal pattern, crosses and recrosses the equator (or any great circle around the Earth), thus EXCEEDING the length of the equator (or great circle), while keeping within distance of it.

By the strictest definition, to go around the world would be to exactly (to the level of subatomic particles) above a great circle on Earth at ALL times, starting exactly where you end up finishing. That is impossible by any standard. Not even a GPS-guided aircraft could do that (fuel alone would be a problem).

But hey, rules are rules, and he satisfied them. Just like the Electoral College ruffles some feathers, but it IS the law. Bush is legitimate. So is Fossett.

[cogitator]

I would think there isn't enough wind in the equatorial region for sustained flight. Isn't that what they call the 'doldrums'? Now, I could theoretically envision a flight that, in a somewhat sinusoidal pattern, crosses and recrosses the equator (or any great circle around the Earth), thus EXCEEDING the length of the equator (or great circle), while keeping within distance of it.

The doldrums are north and south of the equator. In the equatorial region balloonists have to avoid the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), a region of strong and persistent storms.