The navigation system failed today on board the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer in which pilot Steve Fossett is attempting to become the first person to fly solo non-stop around the world.

Mr Fossett was left with no idea where his single-engined jet plane was heading. He hopes to complete his trip - which began shortly after midnight, UK time - in less than 80 hours.

But all did not run smoothly in the first few hours of the challenge. For two hours the Global Positioning System (GPS) was disabled, not only leaving Mr Fossett without a navigation guide but knocking out the auto-pilot.

With no GPS to record exactly where he went, the trip might not have been accepted by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the aviation authority monitoring the event. The trip still could have counted for the Guinness World Records, but not as a bona fide aviation achievement.

As he flew over eastern Canada, Mr Fossett had to decide whether he want to continue. He described the glitch as a potential "show-stopper" - strong words for a man not known for expressing much emotion. The 60-year-old told Mission Control in Salina, Kansas where the plane took off and is due to land that he was determined to carry on. Then, without warning, the system suddenly clicked back in, much to the relief of the pilot and his support staff on the ground.

Kevin Stass, Mission Control Director, said the system corrected itself with no help from the experts on the ground.

"That would have been a big problem," he said. "We couldn’t figure out what the problem was. We couldn’t really know where he was and we probably would have missed a couple of key way points. But it started working again and as long as it is working, we don’t really care."

Describing the moment that the GPS failed, Mr Fossett told reporters in a special telephone link-up from his cockpit: "This is my sole source of navigation. This was very serious - it wasn't a total loss of GPS, more an intermittent signal. It would have been extremely difficult to maintain my course around the world."

He added: "Things are going very well, I am happy with the situation and I think we have got a good chance."

The project’s sponsor, Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson, met up with the GlobalFlyer over Canada, following its progress in a chase plane.

Talking about the take-off, which was the most feared part of the attempt because of the enormous load of fuel on board, Sir Richard said: "It was a very emotional moment, seeing him off. "It was, perhaps, one of the most tricky stages of a trip like this."

But Sir Richard said that 80 per cent of the danger was over now that the aircraft is in the air. GlobalFlyer took off carrying a weight of 21,900lbs, 86 per cent of which was made up of fuel. It had never flown so heavy and the aircraft’s makers, the Californian based company Scaled Composites, feared it might have broken up or even failed to lift off the ground.

But the plane successfully took to the skies in front of more than 8,000 spectators at 6.47pm last night (12.47am UK time) in the Kansas city. Salina was previously best known for manufacturing frozen pizza, so the record breaking attempt has given the area something of a boost

Because of the weight, it was impossible for Mr Fossett to reach his final cruising height of 45,000ft without burning off some fuel. At 7.30am (1.30pm UK times) he was approaching north Africa and the aircraft weighed 17,300lbs. He is currently at 44,000ft and should reach optimum crusing altitude by the time he passes Casablanca.

Chief engineer and test pilot Jon Karkow said much of the gasoline and kerosene on board was expected to be taken up in the early stages of the flight and there was no concern that GlobalFlyer was burning fuel too quickly.

Mr Fossett will spend the next two days in his 7.7ft cockpit in which he is severely cramped. He has been tucking into chocolate milkshakes as his only form of sustenance. But he will have little to distract him because for 20 per cent of the journey he will be flying in the dark, due to the fact that he is constantly heading east.

GlobalFlyer will only be spotted over the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, the Indian plains beyond Delhi and above the islands of Hawaii.

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