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Records Float Away for Hapless Skydiver

Balloon sails without him as Fournier muffs third shot at parachuting from outer space

By Lev Weinstein,  Newser Staff

Posted May 28, 2008 2:38 AM CDT

(Newser) – The third time was not a charm for a retired French army officer-turned-daredevil who  hoped yesterday to parachute to earth from the edge of outer space. Michel Fournier's latest attempt to ride a balloon 25 miles up before his death-defying, 15-minute leap—a feat which would have smashed several records—ended with a whimper when his balloon floated away without him, the New York Times reports.

“It was like having a hammer over my head,” Fournier said."You just say, 'How come it didn't work?'" The balloon's detachment from Fournier's gondola was the latest setback in his 20-year, $20 million pursuit of the record books. Fournier, 64, plans to try again in August—and vowed next time to bring two balloons.

A balloon filled with helium rises into the sky but is not attached to capsule of French skydiver Michel Fournier.
A balloon filled with helium rises into the sky but is not attached to capsule of French skydiver Michel Fournier.   (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, David Stobbe)
French sky diver Michel Fournier gets loaded into an ambulance for transportation in preparation of his attempt to break four free fall records on Monday May 26, 2008.
French sky diver Michel Fournier gets loaded into an ambulance for transportation in preparation of his attempt to break four free fall records on Monday May 26, 2008.   (AP Photo/the Canadian Press, David Stobbe)
The helium balloon Fournier was going to use to soar to the stratosphere drifted away into the sky without the capsule.
The helium balloon Fournier was going to use to soar to the stratosphere drifted away into the sky without the capsule.   (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, David Stobbe)
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