French parachutist Michel Fournier's balloon drifts away Tuesday, unsecured to its gondola, foiling his latest attempt to set a world record for a high-altitude jump. (CBC)

A French parachutist's hopes of setting world records for high-altitude jumps were deflated early Tuesday, when the balloon designed to ferry him into the sky in Saskatchewan drifted away, unsecured to its gondola.

The CBC's Dan Zakreski, reporting from the scene in North Battleford, said it appeared former paratrooper Michel Fournier's balloon either broke loose or was not properly rigged.

"We thought we were witnessing the launch," Zakreski said. "This gorgeous balloon had ascended up into the sky. It kept rising and rising, and at a certain point everybody collectively realized that it wasn't attached to Mr. Fournier's gondola."

His team recovered the balloon about 40 kilometres from the launch site and it is studying what went wrong.

At a news conference after the failed launch, Fournier's team said it was too soon to determine what happened, but that it appears as if the explosive cable cutter — the metal part meant to separate the gondola from the balloon after the jump — failed or was triggered prematurely.

The launch team said it believes one of cable cutter's five charges may have been set off by static electricity.

"It was a perfect launch in our eyes, and unfortunately, at the last minute, we had this failure," one of his team told reporters.

During the news conference, a jovial Fournier said he would try again in August, when jet stream conditions are next favourable for a launch.

"I'm not about to give up," the white-haired 64-year-old said with a smile. "In life, you have to believe in what you do. If you don't believe in what you do, then you might as well give up."

When asked which balloon he would use, Fournier said the same balloon that almost escaped his team Tuesday was more than up to the task.

"Why change the balloon now, when we've tested it today and it's working great?"

'Like having a hammer over my head'

Fournier was supposed to rise with the balloon for two hours as it climbed to an altitude of 40 kilometres, the very edge of the Earth's atmosphere. Then, wearing a pressurized suit to protect him from the near vacuum and –115 C temperature, he was to jump out.

"It was like having a hammer over my head," Fournier said of how he felt when he saw the balloon rise.

Fournier had hoped to make the jump Monday, but postponed it because of heavy cloud cover and high winds. He also tried in 2002 and 2003, but was hindered by bad weather and a faulty balloon.

North Battleford Mayor Julian Sadlowski was at the launch site Tuesday morning and watched the balloon float away. He said that while it's a disappointment for the entire town, Fournier is welcome back any time he wishes to attempt the dive again.

Fournier, who has been working on the parachute jump since 1987, was expected to reach speeds of 1,500 km/h as he freefell toward Earth during a 15-minute plunge.

The jump was supposed to set a number of records, including for highest altitude jump. American Joe Kittinger holds the record after a jump from 31,330 metres in 1960.