Mission control for a helium-filled balloon says the craft carrying an international team is past the one-quarter mark as they fly eastward across the western Pacific Ocean in a bid to break two major records en route from North America from Japan.
Pilots Troy Bradley of New Mexico and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia set off in the Two Eagles balloon from Saga, Japan, shortly before 6:30 a.m. Sunday Japan time. That was Saturday afternoon at mission control in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Mission control says the balloon has been averaging more than 50 miles per hour (about 80 kilometers) and had traveled nearly 1,700 miles (2,736 kilometers) as of late Sunday night New Mexico time.
They're trying to break a distance record of 5,208 miles and a 137-hour flight-duration record.
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