Balloonist sets sights on finishing historic trek

Fossett's balloon, Spirit of Freedom is expected to land in Australia.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) -- Traveling 27,000 feet above the Southern Ocean, adventurer Steve Fossett appeared to be closing in on a historic trip around the world, the first solo pilot to complete the treacherous journey.

Fossett's Spirit of Freedom is expected to cross the magic line marking his starting point at 117 degrees east longitude at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday (9:30 a.m. EDT) -- ahead of schedule after the balloon picked up speed in the high winds.

As of 5 a.m. EDT, winds had pushed the 58-year-old investment banker away from his expected landing site at Kalgoorlie, Australia, and were nudging him north toward the Nullarbor Plain east of the target site, according to Joe Ritchie, director of Fossett's mission control center at Washington University in St. Louis.

RESOURCES • Follow Fossett's flight path with a satellite map.  • Previous aviation records    Balloonist's background Fossett holds world records in ballooning, sailing and flying airplanes. He also swam the English Channel in 1985, placed 47th in the Iditarod dog sled race in 1992 and participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans car race in 1996. -- Source: The Associated Press

The landing was expected in south-central Australia early Wednesday morning local time.

In the final hours of the flight -- Fossett's sixth attempt -- the balloon pilot was "worn out" from battling wicked weather over the Indian Ocean, Ritchie said.

"He really needs a little sleep," Ritchie said.

If winds keep him south of Australia, Fossett would have to execute a landing in Tasmania or New Zealand to avoid going out over the vast South Pacific Ocean, Ritchie said. He also could be pushed toward Antarctica, deep in the grip of winter.

"All we can do is watch the weather," Ritchie said.

At 7 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Fossett had traveled 19,249 miles, completing about 99 percent of his journey in 13 days.

Strong winds over the Indian Ocean propelled Fossett to speeds reaching 200 mph, a personal solo speed record for him, according to his control center.

Fossett, who owns a Chicago, Illinois, investment company, has a long history of completing challenging adventures, including swimming the English Channel, piloting a dog sled in the Iditarod race in Alaska, driving in the LeMans auto endurance race in France and finishing the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii.

In May, he and his crew of 12 broke the Trans-Mediterranean (Marseille, France, to Carthage, Tunisia) sailing record, giving him nine of the 10 fastest "outright" world sailing records, plus the 24-hour record.

But his quest to circle the world alone in a balloon -- one of the last great unfulfilled challenges in aviation -- has proved elusive, with five earlier attempts falling short.

In March 1999, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones became the first people to circumnavigate the globe in a balloon, but a solo balloonist has never accomplished the feat.