Pilots in helium-filled balloon land safely in Mexico

A helium-filled balloon piloted by an American and a Russian landed safely off the coast of Mexico early today after an audacious, nearly trip across the Pacific Ocean that shattered two long-standing records for ballooning.
The pilots landed 4 miles (6 kms) offshore in Baja California about 300 miles north of the popular beach destination of Cabo San Lucas, greeted by a team of balloon enthusiasts who assisted with the landing.
The pilots came in low and dropped thick trailing ropes into the ocean to help slow the balloon before setting down in a controlled water landing.
Mission Control in Albuquerque was packed with balloon team members and the pilots' families, as all eyes focused on a giant screen showing a map of the coast and the balloon's location as it descended. They exchanged hugs and smiled with relief after it touched down.

"We're really pleased with the distance numbers we have here and very pleased with the duration numbers," said Steve Shope, mission control director.
"These are significant improvements over the existing records. We didn't break them by just a little bit. They were broken by a significant amount."

Troy Bradley of Albuquerque and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Moscow lifted off from Japan Sunday morning, and by Friday, they beat what's considered the "holy grail" of ballooning achievements, the 137-hour duration record set in 1978 by the Double Eagle crew of Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman in the first balloon flight across the Atlantic.

They also easily exceeded the distance record of 5,209 miles set by the Double Eagle V team during the first trans-Pacific flight in 1981.
The pilots were said to be in good spirits at various times during the trip, but it was a grueling ordeal. The balloon's capsule is about the size of a large tent 7 feet long, 5 feet wide and 5 feet tall.
They were flying at an altitude of at least 15,000 feet, requiring them to wear oxygen masks and bundle up against the 50-degree temperature inside the capsule. They had sleeping bags, a small onboard heater and a simple toilet.

The original route took the pilots on a path from Japan, across the Pacific Ocean and toward the Pacific Northwest before they encountered shifting weather patterns. They then made a sweeping right turn and headed south along the California coast for the Mexico landing.