09. 03. 99
24 hours on the edge of the 26th parallel

The log book

20:20 GMT: Just as the meteorologists had predicted, the Breitling Orbiter 3 entered China at 21:20 following a trajectory which corresponds to the authorized zone. 17:30 GMT: After having climbed to 8600 meters (26'000 feet) this morning, Breitling Orbiter 3 is heading towards Burma and China at more than120 km/h. The balloon will enter Chinese airspace tonight and could exit the country in 24 hours. Team meteorologists are very confident the balloon will not pass over the crucial 26th parallel. Tonight, between 10 pm and midnight GMT, Breitling Orbiter 3 will enter China, over the Yunnan province, close – but below- to the 26th parallel. It is expected to exit chinese airspace Thursday night or Friday morning, depending on the option chosen by the meteorologists. They will most certainly ask the pilots to descend at an altitude of 4500 meters, where slower winds (35km/h) will take the balloon under the northern part of the jet stream currently forming over the Pacific. A higher track would take the balloon too South. Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones have promised the chinese authorities to land if the balloon can’t avoid the no-fly zone. But team meteorologists are very confident the craft will not deviate from its path during the crossing of China. The balloon’s flight plan has already been passed to the aviation authorities in China, who will receive an update every two hours via Swiss Control at Geneva Airport. " Now that we have managed to ideally position the balloon to cross China, a more crucial task is awaiting us on the Pacific " declared Belgian meteorologist Luc Trullemans. After 8 days, Breitling Orbiter 3 has nearly flown 14'000 kilometers since take-off and has only used 10 of the 32 propane containers, which leaves an autonomy of 15 more days. Around noon, the balloon passed close to Varanasi, in India. It then flew North of Calcutta and over Bangladesh. The pilots reported a splendid view of the Himalayan mountains. 14:00 GMT: The route that Breitling Orbiter 3 will take during the few days is now more certain.The balloon will enter Chinese airspace at approximately 23:00 GMT. 10:00 GMT: Big surprise for a group from the Swiss Tourism Office, being on a promotion tour in India, while flying from Dehli to Bengalore at an altitude of 8'000m, to catch a sight of the ballon Breitling Orbiter 3. A radio contact was established with Bertrand Piccard; the entire Swiss group hurried to the cockpit to send their messages of friendship and encouragement. The airplane continued his route and the balloon disappeared on the horizon.The Swiss regained their places, realizing that they have just lived an exceptional moment. 06:00 GMT: The team in the Control Center in Geneva had little communication with the pilots, "partly because everything went according to plan leaving little to discuss, and partly because of problems with the Inmarsat C data system. The reason for this might be the huge silver envelope of the balloon, which is shielding the antennas from the Indian Ocean communication satellite contact via the data link was intermittent.The Inmarsat C data link is our preferred method of passing messages to and from the Control Center because they appear in written from on a computer screen, ensuring little chance of error in understanding", explained Alan Noble, the Flight Director.