Bad weather delays balloon altitude record bid

Two British pilots were today waiting to see if bad weather would further delay their record-breaking attempt to fly a balloon to the edge of space.

Andy Elson and Colin Prescot were due to take to the skies at 6am today in their giant balloon but the launch was postponed by 24 hours due to “unfavourable cloud conditions”, a spokesman for the team said.

“Conditions were not suitable for the launch. All being well, it will happen as planned on Wednesday morning,” he said.

The delay means the British pilots, who remain on the Trimaran warship off the coast of Cornwall, face a further agonising wait before launching their attempt.

Project flight director Alan Noble said that the launch postponement was a “bit of a disappointment”.

He went on: “But balloonists tend to be sanguine. We waited a year to do this. Another day does not make a lot of difference.”

The bid to break the 42-year-old world record comes after more than two years’ planning. Elson and Prescot hope to steer the QinetiQ 1 balloon to a record 132,000ft or 25 miles.

The flight was planned for last summer but was shelved due to poor weather.