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MELBOURNE, Australia (Reuters) -- An attempt to circle the Earth nonstop in a balloon flying 24 miles (39 km) up on the edge of space is set for liftoff from the Australian outback later this month. The joint U.S.-Australian team plans to use a high-flying weather balloon, the size of a 40-story building, to lift a pressurized gondola carrying three balloonists wearing Russian spacesuits into the stratosphere. The trip, if successful, could take 18 days. "Providing the weather permits we will launch on December 29," a spokesman for the attempt said Wednesday. British entrepreneur Richard Branson and fellow balloonists American Steve Fossett and Sweden's Per Lindstrand are guiding their hot-air balloon across China in their latest round-the-world record attempt. Branson's bid is the latest of almost 20 attempts to conquer what is regarded as one of the great aviation frontiers. Branson and Fossett have both crashed in previous individual attempts. Fossett survived an amazing 29,000 feet (8,840 meters) plunge into the South Pacific last year when his balloon was hit by lightning. But unlike earlier attempts, the crew awaiting takeoff in Australia's Alice Springs will attempt to float on the edge of space, thus avoiding unsettled weather. "The difference between this mission and others is that it is flying in the stratosphere at 130,000 feet (39,620 meters) as opposed to other balloons that fly in the atmosphere at about 20,000 to 30,000 feet (6,100 to 9,140 meters)," the spokesman told Reuters. The RE/MAX Team of Australian John Wallington and Americans Bob Martin and Dave Liniger aim to steer a 700 feet (213 meter) high, 39 million cubic feet (1.1 million meter) weather research balloon in the Earth's upper atmosphere. The team plans to launch its balloon from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientific balloon launch facility at Alice Springs. The balloonists will wear Russian-built Sokol spacesuits, as used in the Soyuz and Mir programs, in the first attempt to fly in the stratosphere. "It's very radical -- this is trading the danger of getting into weather in the atmosphere with not having any oxygen in the stratosphere," the spokesman said. The logic behind using a weather balloon is to eliminate a balloonist's worst enemy, weather. By rising to the edge of space the balloonist can utilize steady wind flows in the stratosphere and avoid thunderstorms to carry them on a straight flight path. Other attempts to balloon around the world, including previous attempts by Branson and Fossett, have been dogged by bad weather and technical problems.
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