Cruising over North Africa

Flying in darkness, Steve Fossett is crossing over North Africa and heading toward a spectacular Egyptian sunrise.

The 61-year-old American adventurer is soaring above the planet at a comfortable cruising altitude of 45,477 feet. He's speeding along at 370 knots, and all systems aboard the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer apparently are working without problems.

If all goes well, he'll be crossing over the Persian Gulf and India on Thursday before making a key decision: Whether to make a 17-hour pass over the vast Pacific Ocean.

Or not.

The decision will be based in a large part on projected jet stream tailwinds and the amount of fuel remaining in the aircraft's 13 tanks.