That sucks

Telegraph:

A retired French paratrooper's daring bid to skydive from the edge of space came to a farcical end when the balloon that was to take him almost 25 miles up drifted off without him. After two decades of preparation and $20 million of investment, Michel Fournier, 64, could only look on helplessly as the helium balloon lifted off from North Battleford airport in the Canadian state of Saskatchewan, leaving him stranded on terra firma in his pressurised capsule. It was the latest dashing of a life-long dream for Mr Fournier, who had planned to perform what has been dubbed Le Grand Saut (The Great Leap) from almost 25 miles up after a two and half hour ascent to the edge of the stratosphere — about four times higher than the cruising altitude of a commercial jet. But his capsule never left the ground after the balloon detached itself while being inflated.