The Great Balloon Race

摘要

The assembly took all night. Now, just before dawn on January 8, 1996, bathed in the glow of construction floodlights, a 15-story balloon, shedding frost, gently lifts a little yellow gondola from the snow. Inside, dressed in Arctic clothing, warmed by a mobile-home heater that might or might not work, suffering from a cold, squeezed onto a sleeping bench surrounded by camping-trip supplies and electronic gear is Steve Fossett, 51, who got his balloon license less than three years ago. His aim: to circle the globe.