Pilots Attempt Record-Breaking Balloon Trip Across Pacific

Pilots try to break records for distance and time in the air.

ByABC News
January 26, 2015, 9:37 AM

— -- Two pilots are trying to break world ballooning records as they begin a trip across the Pacific Ocean.

PHOTO: Japanese volunteers in Saga, Japan, help to ready the Two Eagles balloon for flight
Japanese volunteers in Saga, Japan, help to ready the Two Eagles balloon for flight Jan. 24, 2015.

American Troy Bradley and Russian Leonid Tiukhtyaev hope to land in North America after about five and a half days in the air, breaking more-than-30-year-old records for distance and time in flight for a gas balloon.

"This is a very coveted record and, hopefully, one that's going to stand for a long, long time," Mission Control Director Steven Shope said.

The explorers took off from Japan Sunday morning in a helium-filled balloon named "Two Eagles," and are now traveling at 15,000 feet in the air.

PHOTO: Pilots Troy Bradley of the United States and Leonid Tiukhtayev of Russia
Pilots Troy Bradley of the United States and Leonid Tiukhtayev of Russia in the capsule of the Two Eagles balloon, Jan. 25, 2015 at the launch site in Saga, Saga Prefecture, Japan.

They will make the dangerous, 5,208-mile trip across the ocean with limited sleep and access to oxygen in a small capsule. Temperatures are expected to be in the 50s.

At such high altitudes come high stakes. Four years ago, ballooners Richard Abruzzo and Carol Rymer Davis died after hitting bad weather.

PHOTO: The Two Eagles balloon is readied for flight in Saga, Saga Prefecture, Japan, Jan. 25, 2015
The Two Eagles balloon is readied for flight in Saga, Saga Prefecture, Japan, Jan. 25, 2015. Pilots Leonid Tiukhtyaev and Troy Bradley are attempting to cross the Pacific Ocean and set a new distance record for gas balloons.