Millionaire Vijaypat Singhania yesterday broke the world record for the highest flight in a hot air balloon and reached the fringes of space, his son claimed.
Singhania, 67, surpassed 21,000m a little more than two hours after taking off in his 40-tonne balloon, and has started his descent, his son Gautam said.
"We have the world record at 69,000 feet," said Gautam Singhania. "We're bringing him down now."
The previous world record was 19,811m, set by Sweden's Per Lindstrand in Plano, Texas, in June 1988.
"The exact height reached was 21,290.89 meters. This is subject to certification," said Colin Prescott, one of two British designers of the balloon.
The record could not be independently verified immediately.
A sealed altimeter, a GPS (global positioning system) unit and a barograph were installed inside the capsule to determine the balloon's height, Prescott said. On landing, the seals will be broken and the instruments submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records for verification.
Singhania lifted off from downtown Mumbai at 6:45am, enclosed in a pressurized cabin suspended from the 50m-tall multicolored balloon.
He was expected to take more than two hours to get back to Earth, probably landing in Nashik, a town about 100km northeast of Mumbai, depending on wind speed and direction.
Singharia's wife said she would not be able to relax until he was safely back on the ground.
"I was really scared, am still scared until he lands. When I heard that he had broken the record, I became numb in mind and heart," said Asha Singharia.
Prescott said the enormous size of the balloon could pose a problem.
"Now the challenge is to land it safely. The lighter the wind, the easier it will be to land," he said.
Before taking off in downtown Bombay cheered by hundreds of residents and a marching band, Singhania said he expected to break the record.
"I'm very excited but very nervous and confident I'll make it," Singhania said.
Vedant Kumar, 7, watched the balloon's ascent through a pair of binoculars until it became a just speck in the sky.
"I wish I could follow him in a helicopter," he exclaimed, hopping from foot to foot with excitement. A helicopter was following the balloon to monitor wind direction for the landing. Kumar said he was trying to persuade his parents to take him to the landing site.
The entire voyage was broadcast live on national television using cameras on board the helicopter, inside the balloon's cabin and on the ground.
The temperature outside the balloon was expected to fall as low as minus 93?C and oxygen was negligible. Before taking off, Singhania stressed the importance of the pressurized cabin, saying that if he was exposed to such temperatures his "blood would boil."
A unit on the ground was monitoring oxygen levels and other life support systems inside the cabin.
Singhania, the chairman emeritus of the Raymond Group, one of India's leading textile companies, also set a record for ultralight aviation 17 years ago when he flew 9,655km from Britain to India in 23 days.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS