UK research agency Qinetiq was forced to abort its Qinetiq 1 manned helium balloon launch attempt last week after tearing the balloon during inflation. It was the first launch attempt, after weather hampered last year's efforts. The balloon material became twisted during unwinding and inflation from its ship-borne storage drum, and a seam tore in the 1.3 million m3 (45 million ft3) balloon's polyethylene fabric. Qinetiq says a decision on the future of the 132,000ft (40,300m) world altitude record attempt will be made "in due course".
Source: Flight International
