Balloon Breaks Free Before Launch, Leaves Fournier On The Ground

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 05.27.08 0900 MDT: In something of a Monty Python-esque ending to Michel Fournier's latest attempt to set three new world freefall records, on Tuesday morning the French skydiver's massive balloon decided to take flight on its own... somehow breaking free from its ties to the ground, and ascending into the sky without him.

"Everything seemed to be going all right," said CTV's Murray Oliver. "The balloon was inflating and then suddenly like a child releasing a helium balloon at a fair, suddenly the balloon just slipped away and ascended into the sky."

After seeing his attempt postponed twice due to weather Monday, Fournier had hoped to ascend from North Battleford, Saskatchewan to around 130,000 feet, riding in a capsule suspended from the helium balloon. Once reaching altitude, Fournier planned to freefall back to Earth, breaking the sound barrier in the process.

Two earlier attempts by Fournier to establish the all-time freefall records for altitude, speed and duration were halted in 2002 and 2003, when strong winds tore apart his balloon prior to liftoff.

Fournier's team reportedly has a backup balloon, but there's no word yet on whether the 64-year-old former French paratrooper will make yet another attempt.

Original Report

Retired French paratrooper Michel Fournier's first two attempts to break the all-time world records for the world's highest, longest, and fastest freefall skydive were postponed Monday, due to high winds and cloud cover.

"We had to have a delay of two hours because of visibility. The winds were fine; however, we had too many clouds and we did not want to send the balloon up if we could not retrieve any images," spokeswoman Francine Gittins told Agence-France Presse. "Consequently, the wind picked up in the morning and so now the wind is too strong for the balloon to be inflated."

But he's going to try again. At approximately 0200 EDT Tuesday, Fournier's team once again plans to begin preflight activities in anticipation of a launch about two hours later. As Fournier -- who is 64 -- breathes pure oxygen, his team will ready the 295-foot-tall helium balloon that will hoist a capsule carrying the French daredevil to an estimated 130,000 feet.

As ANN reported Sunday, for nearly two-and-a-half hours Fournier will ascend in a pressurized capsule suspended from a helium balloon to reach his target altitude almost 25 miles above the earth. From the edge of space he will depart the capsule wearing a custom carbon fiber suit that cost nearly $70,000 that will protect him from the -148 degree F temperatures at altitude, as well as the extremely high temperatures caused by air resistance during the 10-minute high-speed free fall.

Expecting to reach a speed of over 1000 mph, Fournier will also wear a reinforced helmet that will protect his ears from the shockwave caused by breaking the sound barrier. If successful, he will break records for not only the highest altitude freefall, longest freefall, and fastest freefall, but also the highest altitude balloon flight as well.

The current high altitude free fall record was set in 1962 when Roger Eugene Andreyev jumped from 80,324 feet. In 1960, US Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger jumped from an altitude of 102,800 feet... but was stabilized with a small parachute during the descent, and thus was not a true freefall.

Launch conditions for Fournier's third attempt appear far more favorable Tuesday, with forecasters calling for clear skies and light winds.

Even if Fournier succeeds in his attempt to pass the speed of sound on the descent, and his parachute opens as planned at 3,000 feet AGL to lower him gently to terra firma (he also carries a secondary 'chute designed to open automatically at 1,000 feet) he still faces complications.

Fournier's team anticipates he will land within a radius of 25 miles... and they can't be off by very much. In case he's unconscious on landing -- a real possibility -- his team must find him and remove his helmet before his suit's oxygen supply runs out.

FMI: www.legrandsaut.org