13. 03. 99
Breitling Orbiter 3 zigzags between storms

The log book

16:00 GMT: After having accomplished a little more than half of its round-the-world flight, Breitling Orbiter 3 is still cruising slowly but steadily at 40 knots, at an altitude of 9'500 meters (28'500 feet), easily avoiding the storms over the Pacific. The southerly track will take the balloon towards the Hawaiian islands, where it will meet with the Subtropical jet stream on Monday and catch winds of more than 200 km/h. So far, Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard have flown 22'000 kilometers, Hawaii standing some 2800 kilometers away. In the next few hours, for the second time in 2 days, Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard may take the opportunity to climb out of the gondola. They will do a few verifications, remove a cross flow connected during their last EVA (External Vehicular Activity) and do a little bit of housekeeping. This will probably be the last complete check-up before entering the jet stream. Off Hawaii, Breitling Orbiter 3 will climb to 9'000 meters (27'000 feet) into the jet stream and reach the coast of Mexico within two days (Wednesday). It will then head towards a point between Cuba and Jamaïca, before getting to the Atlantic. If all goes according to plans, the Breitling Orbiter 3 should accomplish the round-the-world trip next Saturday or Sunday, in North Africa. On the path to the Hawaiin islands, Breitling Orbiter 3 will ironically pass close to the area where Richard Branson ditched, last December. Satellite communications have been difficult, due to the huge size of the balloon envelope, which is obscuring the line of sight between the antennas on the gondola and the equatorial Inmarsat satellite. The problem is likely to persist for a further 24 hours. The pilots are communicating with air traffic control using HF radio.