Balloon plan bursts

Two balloonists who were planning to circle the Earth by riding air currents
in the stratosphere
(This Week, 9 January, p 12)
have abandoned their attempt.
The flight, from Alice Springs in Australia, was called off on 15 January after
being repeatedly postponed. Crew member John Wallington says the balloon’s
gondola was at fault: “It was far too sensitive to winds during launch.” The
team plans to try again with a redesigned gondola later in the year.