Balloon pilot Colin Prescot (R) and Andy Elson (L) stand with the
QinetiQ 1 flight platform during final testing for a world altitude
attempt, July 10, 2003. The two pilots will launch their balloon from a
ship off the southern English coastline in the next two months, when
weather conditions are deemed suitable, and attempt to reach an
altitude of 132,000 feet. The flight platform will be carried aloft by
the biggest manned balloon in history at 1250 feet tall, almost the
same height as the Empire State Building. REUTERS/Peter Macdiarmid

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