Overview
- The Atlantic Explorer and its three pilots landed safely in Luxembourg on Sunday, June 7, 2026, ending about 70 hours aloft after departing Presque Isle, Maine.
- The balloon lifted off from Presque Isle on June 4 and the team’s early estimate is they covered roughly 2,853 miles while flying at average heights near 14,000 feet and at times reaching speeds around 100 km/h.
- The crew used hydrogen as the only lifting gas, a rare choice because hydrogen is highly flammable and requires precise gas‑volume and altitude control to avoid loss of lift or overpressure.
- Pilots Bert Padelt, Alicia Hempleman‑Adams and Peter Cuneo spent the crossing in an open basket exposed to freezing conditions, icing from flying through rain, and required supplemental oxygen, which the team said created moments of 'real jeopardy.'
- The successful flight follows several earlier Atlantic Explorer attempts and test flights that were curtailed by weather or suspected gas issues, and it may reshape long‑standing assumptions about hydrogen’s operational feasibility for long gas‑balloon voyages.