After becoming the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon, American adventurer Steve Fossett cannot get back to earth.

The 58-year-old Chicago millionaire flew into the record books on Tuesday when his balloon crossed east of 117 degrees longitude, off the coast of Australia, to completely circumnavigate the globe.

Mr Fossett had some bad weather, but much of the flight was smooth

Now Mr Fossett is trying to land his towering balloon, the Spirit of Freedom, and recent reports suggest that strong winds and dangerous terrain in the Australian outback could force him to keep flying overnight and delay his return to earth until Thursday.

It is now anyone's guess just where he will touch down, according to BBC Sydney correspondent Phil Mercer.

His support team has moved from his planned landing site near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia to Ceduna on the coast of South Australia, but there is speculation he may be forced to land in the northern state of Queensland.

"Balloon landings are messy," said Joe Ritchie, head of Mr Fossett's mission control at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. "Unless you have no wind, you're going to get dragged."

Sixth time lucky

Mr Fossett's record-breaking achievement closes the chapter on a personal marathon which began a decade ago.

It is a case of sixth time lucky for Mr Fossett, who has come close to death in his previous attempts to break the solo circumnavigation record.

He sounded calm when he called his mission control at the finish line, saying simply: "It is a wonderful time for me."

"It is hard to describe the feeling that I have now," the 58-year-old tycoon told a press conference via satellite phone. "I am just so happy."

"It has been a long trip and I am really glad to have arrived. Finally after six flights I have succeeded and it is a very satisfying experience."

Mr Fossett completed the circumnavigation during darkness, after covering nearly 32,000 kilometres (20,000 miles) around the southern hemisphere.

During the flight in the silvery balloon, Mr Fossett often hurtled along at speeds up to 322 km/h (200 mph), at an altitude more familiar to jetliners.

The weather has mostly been kind, though the balloon was caught in a dangerous "yo-yo phenomenon" near the Andes when the craft went into a series of uncontrollable leaps and dives.

He faced fewer difficulties than on his previous aborted attempts and still has oxygen to spare.

Mr Fossett is said to be already planning his next adventure - flying a glider up to the stratosphere 18,288 metres (60,000 feet) above southern New Zealand. He could launch that attempt later this month.

The irrepressible adventurer already holds world records in ballooning, sailing and flying airplanes.

He also swam the English Channel in 1985, Was placed 47th in the Iditarod dog sled race in 1992 and participated in the 24 hours Le Mans car race in 1996.

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