Let's get this thing on the ground
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, JULY 2, 2002, 10:00 p.m. CDT (JULY 3, 2002, 03:00 UTC)
With the circle now complete, after flying 20,256 miles thus far (32,598
km), Pilot Steve Fossett is intent on landing Bud Light Spirit of Freedom
as soon as possible. The towering, silvery figure of the balloon
approaches the shores of Australia under the cover of night, while Mission
Control phones anyone and everyone in Australia who owns property in the
path of the balloon, looking to secure a landing site. Predictions still
have the coast-crossing at 4:30 UTC tomorrow morning and the landing at
around 8:00 UTC.
The chase planes and helicopters should be scrambling soon to rendezvous
with our adventurer as he breaches the coast. Bud Light Spirit of Freedom,
within less than two hours of the shores, is currently at 33 degrees south
latitude, 130 degrees east longitude. Headed at 61 degrees, it is flying
at 61 miles per hour (118 km per hour) and 25,300 feet (7,711 meters).
