The day of the first solo balloon flight around the world – level 2

On January 8, 1996, Steve Fossett took off from South Dakota with his balloon for his first attempt, but his journey ended in only three days. He tried to fly around the world three more times, but he always failed.

On March 20, 1999, Bertrand Picard and Brian Jones were able to fly nonstop around the world in a balloon. Their journey was 20 days long.

Steve Fossett said that he wanted to be the first person who could do the same as a single pilot. His fifth attempt failed again because he didn’t have enough oxygen, and he had to stop his journey in Brazil.

In 2002, the sixth attempt came and this attempt was successful. He completed his journey on July 2, 2002, in Australia. The landing was very difficult, but Fossett survived it, like many of his earlier adventures.

Difficult words: attempt (a moment when you try to do something), fail (not to be successful), adventure (a dangerous but exciting experience).

Do you think Steve Fossett's journey was successful overall, given that his first five attempts all ended in failure?

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