New York - French adventurer Michel Fournier watched his hopes of breaking several world records from 40 kilometres above the Earth float away on Tuesday as the balloon that was to carry him aloft took off without him.

The 200,000-dollar balloon came unattached from the capsule carrying 64-year-old Fournier as the launch was set to occur, the Star Phoenix newspaper in Canada's Saskatchewan province reported.

Fournier had planned to travel to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere above North Battleford, Saskatchewan, in a balloon before skydiving back to the ground. If successful, he would have broken world records for the highest skydive, highest manned ballon flight, longest freefall and fastest freefall, the newspaper said.

It was unclear whether the balloon accidently separated from the capsule or whether the flight was deliberately aborted due to a technical problem, reports said.

An attempt a day earlier had been delayed, but a spokeswoman said Fournier would likely try again despite the latest mishap.

"He is an incredibly determined man. He will not want to quit. If anyone can come back from this, it's Michel," spokeswoman Francine Gittens was quoted as saying in Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. (dpa)