Designed and built by Cameron Balloons, of Bristol, England, Breitling Orbiter 3 stood 180 ft (55 m) tall when inflated completely.

During the flight the cabin atmosphere was supplemented by nitrogen and oxygen; carbon dioxide was removed by lithium hydroxide filters.

Solar panels suspended beneath the gondola recharged the on-board lead-acid batteries that provided electrical power.

The goal of ending in Egypt had been to touch down near the Great Pyramids; however, high winds forced the pilots to land short of their target about 80 kilometers north of Mut.

The book had been loaned to the pilots to carry for good luck by a grandson of Jules Verne from the novelist's personal library.

When asked by reporter Howard Schneider about the fate of Breitling Orbiter 3, the project manager Alan Noble remarked that the sponsors and the team "...would probably donate the craft to a museum.

"[7] And indeed the gondola was located for several years on the ground floor of the National Air and Space Museum in the Milestones of Flight Gallery, next to the Wright Brothers 1903 Flyer, Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, the Mercury Friendship 7 capsule, the Gemini IV capsule, the Apollo 11 command module Columbia, and Space Ship One.