Overview
- The Atlantic Explorer team lifted off from Presque Isle, Maine to begin a planned four‑to‑six day, roughly 3,100‑mile crossing to mainland Europe in an open‑basket hydrogen balloon.
- Pilots Bert Padelt, Peter Cuneo and Alicia Hempleman‑Adams are aboard, supported by a U.K. flight‑control group, two American meteorologists and more than a dozen ground crew.
- The expedition uses straight hydrogen gas, a rare and highly flammable lift method that requires tight control of gas volume and altitude over multiple days to manage buoyancy and safety.
- The team says reaching Europe is challenging but achievable, with pilot Peter Cuneo estimating the odds at about “50% or better” once aloft, and the first 24 hours judged especially critical.
- Past attempts ended before the open ocean — including a 2025 landing on Prince Edward Island after a reported gas leak — and the project builds on those failures and technical lessons as it tries again.