Balloon record-breaker lands safely in desert

Steve Fossett landed his Spirit of Freedom balloon early this morning near a dried-up lake in Queensland, Australia, ending his record-breaking round-the-world solo trip.

The capsule bumped along the ground for about 15 minutes before it stopped. The 58-year-old millionaire from Chicago then clambered out and waved to members of his recovery crew, who had had to chase him in a helicopter due to the windy conditions which had prevented him from landing until July 4.

Officials at mission control in St. Louis, Missouri, confirmed he had landed safely.

Mr Fossett sailed into the record books on Tuesday by crossing east of 117 degrees longitude to become the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon in a time of 13 days, 12 hours, 16 minutes and 13 seconds.

Just hours earlier, the American adventurer had to clamber out of his capsule in the freezing Australian night to put out a fire caused by a loose burner hose. "When it happened, it was a big deal," said Joe Ritchie, Mr Fossett's mission control director. "Even though the flight is over and you're flying low, you can still get killed."

"I don't plan to make any more major balloon flights," Mr Fossett said, after spending two weeks living on military-like rations, breathing from oxygen cylinders and using a bucket as a toilet. His balloon capsule will be donated to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington.