GlobalFlyer launch attempt grounded for today

Steve Fossett’s around-the-world attempt in GlobalFlyer has been grounded today due to a “popup” mechanical glitch. Jon Karkow of Scaled Composites explained the problem:

"Unfortunately for today a small mechanical issue called a halt to the flight. We have discovered a small fuel leak which happens to be an element of the fuel system which we changed last flight. This new element has never been tested with a full fuel load before. We learned once it was fully fuelled that we had a small leak in that system. The leak is a fairly simple thing to fix but it will take around 24 hours because it requires fuel sealant material.

Stay tuned to the GlobalFlyer website for further developments.