The Sunday Times - Britain
The Sunday Times November 27, 2005
Tycoon takes balloon to edge of space Dean Nelson
THE world altitude record for a solo hot-air balloon flight fell yesterday when a flamboyant Indian tycoon flew a balloon designed by Britons to the edge of space. He reached 69,852ft, or about 13 miles — disproving a theory that such a feat was technically impossible. Vijaypat Singhania, the owner of several chains of clothing stores and a magnate in the mould of Sir Richard Branson, toppled Per Lindstrand's record of 64,997ft, which had stood since 1988. Seventeen other attempts since then have failed. Singhania, 67, said he was doing it to show that India was no longer a country of "bullock carts and camel rides".
His triumph was announced when his son Gautam screamed "Papa's done it" from the mission's control centre at Bombay racecourse. It was hailed by ecstatic crowds in the city and by politicians who said it was a symbol of India's ambition.
Lindstrand, who congratulated Singhania, said after setting his record that it would be almost impossible to beat because of the technical difficulties of ballooning at the outer limits of the Earth's atmosphere. Singhania responded by naming his record attempt Mission Impossible 70,000.
Yesterday's ascent took 2hr 15min, stopping just short of the target. At such extreme altitudes, solar flares, meteor showers and leaks in cabin pressure can be lethal.
If Singhania had been exposed to the outside pressure — just 40 millibars, or 4% of that at sea-level — he would have burst.
The design team, led by the balloonists and stunt experts Andy Elson and Colin Prescot, who failed in their own attempt to break Lindstrand's record last year, created a pressurised aluminium capsule just 4ft 7in in diameter that was insulated against outside temperatures of -93C.
The balloon, taller than Nelson's Column and named Envelope by its creators, was lifted towards the outer atmosphere by 18 burners fuelled by two tanks of paraffin and one of propane gas. It was fitted with sealed internal and external barometers approved by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale to record the exact height reached.