Three European balloonists trying to fly non-stop around the world floated out over the Mediterranean on Thursday heading for Corsica in light winds, still unable to repair an oxygen leak in their capsule.
On the second day of their journey, the team led by Swiss aeronaut Bertrand Piccard put a brave face on the leak in a lower hatch of the Breitling Orbiter-2, which has kept them from pressurizing the six-ton capsule.
Andy Elson, a British engineer, has already climbed outside to examine the gondola’s exterior and may do so again to try to repair the leak in the lower dome seal, according to a statement by the balloon’s flight control center in Geneva.
“Andy is a mountaineer and has no fears about undertaking this task,” the statement said. He would use a rope harness.
The bearded Elson, from the county of Somerset in western England, has a passion for high-risk sports, including diving in underground lakes and mountain climbing. In 1991, he was the first to cross Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, by balloon.
