Skydiver Felix Baumgartner set to break sound barrier - BBC News BBC News Skydiver Felix Baumgartner set to break sound barrier By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News, Roswell 9 October 2012 Close share panel Image caption Two high altitude jumps earlier this year were used to test all the equipment The Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner will attempt to become the first human to break the sound barrier unaided by a vehicle. He is going to jump out of a balloon at more than 120,000ft (36.5km) above Roswell, New Mexico. In the near vacuum at that altitude, he should accelerate beyond about 690mph (1,110km/h) within 40 seconds. If all goes well, he will open a parachute near the ground to land softly in the desert, 10 minutes later. The 43-year-old adventurer - famous for jumping off skyscrapers - is under no illusions about the dangers he faces.

When you're standing there in a pressure suit, the only thing that you hear is yourself breathing Felix Baumgartner Where he is going, the air pressure is less than 2% of what it is at sea level, and it is impossible to breathe without an oxygen supply. Others who have tried to break the existing records for the highest, fastest and longest freefalls have lost their lives in the process. "If something goes wrong, the only thing that might help you is God," says Baumgartner. "Because if you run out of luck, if you run out of skills, there is nothing left and you have to really hope he is not going to let you down." Difficult wind conditions at Roswell airport mean that lift-off for the balloon will occur no earlier than 1130 local time (1730 GMT; 1830BST). The absolute mark for the highest skydive is held by retired US Air Force Col Joe Kittinger. He leapt from a balloon at an altitude of 102,800ft (31.3km) in August 1960.

Now an octogenarian, Kittinger is part of Baumgartner's team and will be the only voice talking to him over the radio during the two-and-a-half hour ascent and the 10-minute descent. Engineers have done everything possible to limit the risks. They have built the Austrian a special pressurised capsule to carry him under the helium balloon. He will also be wearing a next-generation, full-pressure suit, an evolution of the orange protective clothing worn by shuttle astronauts on launch. Media captionDr Jon Clark: This will help develop crew escape systems and procedures for future space vehicles Although the jump has the appearance of another Baumgartner stunt, his team prefers to stress its high scientific relevance. The researchers on the Red Bull Stratos project believe it will inform the development of new systems for emergency evacuation from high-performance, high-altitude vehicles. Nasa and its spacecraft manufacturers have asked to be kept informed. There are a few examples of pilots being ejected in supersonic airflows when their planes broke apart in the sky, but there is no detailed data on what happens to the human body as it goes supersonic and then, as it slows, goes subsonic again. Baumgartner will be instrumented to acquire this new data.

The concern is that he might be destabilised by shockwaves passing over his body, and that these might throw him into an uncontrolled spin. "It's very important he gets into a delta position," said Baumgartner's trainer, Luke Aikins. "This is hands at his side and his head low, ripping through the sky. This will be crucial to breaking the speed of sound and remaining stable." Engineers have incorporated an automatic device in his gear that would deploy a drogue stabilisation chute if he gets into trouble. But the team's medical director, former shuttle flight surgeon Dr Jon Clark, hopes the stiffness of the pressure suit itself will suffice. "We know that pressure suits limit mobility which we often consider as a bad thing, but in this scenario of going through the sound barrier, it actually adds a protection because it acts like an exoskeleton," he explained. "We don't know what the human will endure accelerating through the sound barrier in coming back down without the aid of aircraft. And that is really the essence of the scientific goal of this mission." There is high confidence Baumgartner will succeed in his quest.

He has already completed practice jumps from 71,600ft (21.8km) and 97,100ft (29.6km). The second of these jumps he described as an extraordinary experience. "It's almost overwhelming," he said. "When you're standing there in a pressure suit, the only thing that you hear is yourself breathing, and you can see the curvature of the Earth; you can see the sky's totally black. It's kind of an awkward view because you've never seen a black sky. And at that moment, you realise you've accomplished something really big." Media captionWhat conditions will Austrian Felix Baumgartner face for his attempt to make the highest ever skydive from 120,000ft (36.5km)? A suite of high-definition cameras will follow the action. Some of these will be attached to Baumgartner himself. But wary of broadcasting a tragedy to worldwide TV audiences, the organisers will be putting a 20-second delay on the live video feed.

Image caption Baumgartner aims to open his parachute about 5,000ft (1.5km) above the ground Four GPS systems in the suit will gather the dive data required to satisfy the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) that records have indeed been broken. "The data is recorded on an SD microcard in his chest pack," Brian Utley, who will file the official report to the FAI after the jump, told BBC News. "I insert that card into the equipment. From that moment on, I have control over the equipment. I'm with it until Felix goes into the capsule, and when he lands I am the first person to approach him so I can take possession of that card again." A BBC/National Geographic documentary is being made about the project and will probably be aired in November. Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos Felix Baumgartner Was Just Thinking About Coming Home - The New York Times The New York Times U.S.

|24 Miles, 4 Minutes and 834 M.P.H., All in One Jump Search Continue reading the main story Photo The capsule hung from a crane just before its release at an airfield in Roswell, N.M. Credit Balazs Gardi/Red Bull Stratos, via European Pressphoto Agency ROSWELL, N.M. — A man fell to Earth from more than 24 miles high Sunday, becoming the first human to break the sound barrier under his own power — with some help from gravity. The man, Felix Baumgartner , an Austrian daredevil, made the highest and fastest jump in history after ascending by a helium balloon to an altitude of 128,100 feet. As millions around the world experienced the vertiginous view from his capsule’s camera , which showed a round blue world surrounded by the black of space, he stepped off into the void and plummeted for more than four minutes, reaching a maximum speed measured at 833.9 miles per hour, or Mach 1.24. He broke altitude and speed records set half a century ago by Joe Kittinger, now 84, a retired Air Force colonel whose reassuring voice from mission control guided Mr.

Baumgartner through tense moments. Engineers considered aborting the mission when Mr. Baumgartner’s faceplate began fogging during the ascent, but he insisted on proceeding and made plans for doing the jump blind. That proved unnecessary, but a new crisis occurred early in the jump when he began spinning out of control in the thin air of the stratosphere — the same problem that had nearly killed Mr. Kittinger a half-century earlier. But as the atmosphere thickened, Mr. Baumgartner managed to stop the spin and fall smoothly until he opened his parachute about a mile above the ground and landed smoothly in the New Mexico desert. Continue reading the main story “It was harder than I expected,” said Mr. Baumgartner, a 43-year-old former Austrian paratrooper. “Trust me, when you stand up there on top of the world, you become so humble. It’s not about breaking records any more. It’s not about getting scientific data. It’s all about coming home.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Kittinger praised Mr. Baumgartner’s courage for proceeding with the mission and said that he had more than broken a record.

“He demonstrated that a man could survive in an extremely high altitude escape situation,” Mr. Kittinger said. “Future astronauts will wear the spacesuit that Felix test-jumped today.” Photo A helium balloon made of 40 acres of ultrathin plastic took Mr. Baumgartner to an altitude of 128,100 feet. Mr. Baumgartner broke the sound barrier during his jump, reaching a maximum speed of 833.9 miles per hour, or Mach 1.24. Credit Predrag Vuckovic/Red Bull Stratos, via A.P. Mr. Baumgartner was backed by a NASA -style mission control operation at an airfield in Roswell that involved 300 people, including more than 70 engineers, scientists and physicians who have been working for five years on the project, called Red Bull Stratos , after the drink company that has financed it. Besides aiming at records, the engineers and scientists on the Red Bull Stratos team have been gathering and publishing reams of data intended to help future pilots, astronauts and perhaps space tourists survive if they have to bail out.

“We’re testing new spacesuits, escape concepts and treatment protocols for pressure loss at extreme altitudes,” said the Red Bull Stratos medical director, Dr. Jonathan Clark, who formerly oversaw the health of space shuttle crews at NASA. “There are so many things that could go wrong here that we’re pushing the technical envelope.” While building the customized suit and capsule, the team of aerospace veterans had to contend with one crucial uncertainty: What happens to the human body when it breaks the sound barrier? There was also one major unexpected problem for Mr. Baumgartner, known to his fans as Fearless Felix. Although he had no trouble jumping off buildings and bridges, and soaring across the English Channel in a carbon-fiber wing, he found himself suffering panic attacks when forced to spend hours inside the pressurized suit and helmet. At one point in 2010, rather than take an endurance test in it, he went to an airport and fled the United States. With the help of a sports psychologist and other specialists, he learned techniques for dealing with the claustrophobia. One of the techniques Mr. Baumgartner developed was to stay busy throughout the ascent. He conversed steadily with Mr.

Kittinger, a former fighter pilot whose deep voice exuded the right stuff as he confidently went through a 40-item checklist rehearsing every move that Mr. Baumgartner would make when it came time to leave the capsule. Advertisement Continue reading the main story When the actual moment came, Mr. Kittinger said to him, “All right, step up on the exterior step. Start the cameras. And our guardian angel will take care of you now.” Mr. Baumgartner stepped outside, saluted and made the jump right after delivering a message that was mostly garbled by radio static. Afterward, he repeated it: “I know the whole world is watching, and I wish the whole world could see what I see. Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you really are.” Photo Felix Baumgartner landed safely in Roswell, N.M., after breaking altitude and speed records in his jump from a balloon. Credit Balazs Gardi/Red Bull Stratos, via A.P. Engineers forecast that Mr.

Baumgartner would reach a supersonic speed of 720 miles an hour by jumping from 120,000 feet, the altitude that they had promised to reach. But all along they had hoped the balloon would go even higher — and lead to an even faster fall, which did occur. As a result, even though he fell farther than Mr. Kittinger did, his fall took less time: 4 minutes and 20 seconds, which was 16 seconds less than Mr. Kittinger’s. Mr. Baumgartner jumped from an altitude of 128,100 feet and landed in desert about 4,000 above sea level, so the jump from capsule to the ground covered about 23 and a half miles. When Mr. Baumgartner lost control of his body during the early part of the jump, he feared going into a flat spin that would send blood away from the center of his body. “At a certain R.P.M.,” he said afterward, “there’s only one way for blood to leave your body, and that’s through your eyeballs. That means you’re dead.

That was what we feared most.” Because of the limited sensation inside his pressurized suit, he said recovering from a spin was much more difficult than during an ordinary dive. “As a sky-diver, you can feel the air on your right shoulder and you immediately know what to do,” he said. “Here you don’t feel the air, so you have to wait until the air pushes you around. Then you think, ‘Oh, it pushed me around clockwise — that means I have to do this.’ ” Brian Utley of the FAI, the international federation that certifies aerospace records, calculated the height and speed of the jump by independently analyzing data gathered on microchips in Mr. Baumgartner’s suit. After a thorough analysis of the data is made over the next several weeks, Mr. Utley said, the precise official figures might be slightly different, but he had no doubt that Mr. Baumgartner had set a supersonic speed record. Advertisement Continue reading the main story As the balloon rose in the sky, viewers from around the world went to YouTube to watch a live video stream from the capsule and mission control. By the time Mr.

Baumgartner made his leap into space, the audience grew to a peak of eight million. Correction: October 14, 2012 Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to the inflation of the balloon. It started at 10:45 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, not standard time. Correction: October 14, 2012 An earlier version of a Web summary on this article said incorrectly that Mr. Baumgartner jumped from a balloon. He jumped from a capsule lifted by a balloon. Brian Stelter contributed reporting from Damascus, Md. A version of this article appears in print on October 15, 2012, on Page A15 of the New York edition with the headline: 24 Miles, 4 Minutes And 834 M.P.H., All in One Jump. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe Space Jump: Felix Baumgartner Sets Leap Record Weather Space Jump: Felix Baumgartner Sets Leap Record Daredevil Felix Baumgartner smashes through the sound barrier after leaping from the edge of space in the world's highest skydive.

20:15, UK, Sunday 14 October 2012 Video: Skydiver Breaks Sound Barrier Mail A skydiver has made history by smashing the world record for the highest skydive after leaping from 128,097ft. Daredevil Felix Baumgartner ascended to the edge of space in a pressurised capsule suspended beneath a giant helium balloon. He then jumped out, freefalling for four minutes and 19 seconds before opening his parachute. The 43-year-old Austrian also broke the record for the highest manned balloon flight after riding with the capsule 24 miles above New Mexico. He also achieved the fastest freefall after reaching a top speed of 834mph (1,342km/h) and broke the sound barrier, according to mission spokeswoman Sarah Anderson. The speed - revealed at a news conference a few hours after the leap - was significantly higher than that given earlier by a spokeswoman, who had put his maximum speed as 706mph (1,136km/h).

Image Caption: Col Kittinger watches Baumgartner on a video relay at mission control A minor problem had developed as Baumgartner's capsule ascended when a heater failed on his helmet faceplate, which meant his visor became fogged when he exhaled. However, it was not enough to stop him jumping. In a nail-biting event watched live around the world, Baumgartner stepped to the edge of the capsule and saluted the camera, before saying: "Sometimes you have to go up really high to realise how small you are." The biggest risk Baumgartner faced was spinning out of control, which could have exerted enough G-forces to make him lose consciousness. At one point he appeared to have become unstable, but he managed to get himself into a flat, controlled position for the rest of the skydive. Temperatures of -68C (-90 Fahrenheit) could also have had unpredictable consequences if his suit had failed. He had been due to jump from 120,000ft, but the balloon went higher than expected, to just under 128,000ft.

The previous record for the highest jump was held by Colonel Joe Kittinger, who jumped at an altitude of 102,800ft (31,333m) in 1960. Video: Skydiver Breaks Freefall Record Bamgartner's leap was watched by Baumgartner's tearful mother Eva and by Col Kittinger, who co-ordinated the jump from mission control. Col Kittinger told the man who went on to break his record for the highest jump: "Our guardian angel will take care of you." However, the Austrian was unable to break Col Kittinger's record for the longest time spent in freefall. Baumgartner's total of four minutes and 19 seconds fell 17 seconds short. The reason for the shorter-than-expected freefall was not immediately clear, although live commentary during the leap suggested he opened his parachute at an altitude above the 5,000ft level that had been announced in advance. The Red Bull Stratos mission was the second attempt for the skydiver. An initial bid last week was aborted at the last minute due to the wind.

Top Stories 'Goosebumps' as daredevil jumps from edge of space - CNN.com 'Goosebumps' as daredevil jumps from edge of space From Dugald McConnell, Josh Levs and Brian Todd, CNN Updated 12:37 PM ET, Mon October 15, 2012 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. JUST WATCHED Free-falling from the edge of space 01:43 Story highlights "This is way bigger than I had anticipated," record-setting jumper says He soared up to 24 miles -- for the highest balloon ride and highest jump ever Then the Austrian daredevil hit 833.9 mph at one point, breaking the speed of sound Risks were low temperatures, thin atmosphere and a possible loss of consciousness One step, 128,100 feet, and millions of amazed gasps.

In a moment that seems likely to live forever in the annals of derring-do, Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner on Sunday rode a balloon to the edge of space, saluted and stepped off a platform 24 miles high with as much ease as any of us mere mortals might step off a curb. The former soldier hurtled through the sky at up to more than 830 mph, breaking the sound barrier in a tumbling, gut-churning four-minute free fall before popping his parachute and making a running landing in the New Mexico desert. Then he fell to his knees and pumped his fists. "Goosebumps ... Incredible!" one Twitter user posted shortly after the jump. "My dad told me of Maradona and Neil Armstrong, I will tell my children of Ronaldo and Felix Baumgartner," another user wrote, referring to Latin American soccer stars and the first man to walk on the moon. Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Felix Baumgartner of Austria jumps out of the capsule during the final Red Bull Stratos flight on Sunday, October 14.

Baumgartner ascended steadily in a capsule hanging from a helium balloon before jumping from 128,000 feet -- 24 miles up -- with nothing but a space suit, helmet and parachute. Hide Caption Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner jumps out of the capsule. Hide Caption 2 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner free-falls after stepping off the 24-mile high platform. He reached speeds of more than 830 mph, breaking the sound barrier. Hide Caption 3 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner parachutes to Earth after his record-breaking skydive on Sunday. Hide Caption Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner safely lands in southeastern New Mexico on Sunday.

Hide Caption 5 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner celebrates after successfully completing the final manned flight for Red Bull Stratos mission. Hide Caption 6 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – People at the mission control center in Roswell, New Mexico, watch Baumgartner during his ascent on Sunday. Hide Caption 7 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – CNN iReporter Joshua Rivas watched Baumgartner ascend in a capsule attached to a helium balloon. Hide Caption 8 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – A crane carrying the capsule follows the helium balloon during the launch on Sunday. Hide Caption 9 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – CNN iReporter Joshua Rivas watched crews prepare the capsule before sending Baumgartner into the air.

Hide Caption 10 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Crew members celebrate Sunday's successful launch. Baumgartner hoped to be the first person to break the sound barrier without the protection of a vehicle. Hide Caption 11 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner steps in to the capsule on Sunday. He has been physically and mentally preparing for five years. Hide Caption Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner sits in his trailer ahead of Sunday's flight. Hide Caption 13 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Crew members assist Baumgartner in his trailer. The Red Bull Stratos team includes a former NASA crew surgeon, record-breaking aviators and innovative aircraft designers. Hide Caption Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner exists his trailer Sunday.

Hide Caption 15 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – The high-altitude balloon twists in the wind just seconds before the launch was aborted on Tuesday, October 9, due to high winds. Hide Caption 16 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner leaves his capsule after the mission was aborted on Tuesday. Hide Caption 17 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner stands in the desert after completing the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico, on July 25. Hide Caption 18 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner sits in his capsule before the scheduled final manned flight of Red Bull Stratos in Roswell on Tuesday, October 9.

Hide Caption 19 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner's flight was delayed until further notice because of high winds. Hide Caption Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – TV crews report from the launch site. Hide Caption 21 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner works out during preparations for the flight in Roswell on Sunday, October 7. Hide Caption 22 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner stands in his trailer during preparations Saturday, October 6. Hide Caption 23 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – A crew member launches a weather balloon into the stratosphere on Thursday, October 4.

Hide Caption 24 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Crew members recover the capsule after the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell on July 25. Hide Caption 25 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – ATA crew members fill the balloon with helium at the flight line on July 25. Hide Caption 26 of 27 Photos: Photos: Free-falling from edge of space Free-falling from the edge of space – Baumgartner's pressurized flight suit and helmet restrict mobility and together weigh 100 pounds.

Hide Caption Felix Baumgartner lands safely after record-breaking jump – as it happened | Sport | The Guardian Felix Baumgartner Felix Baumgartner lands safely after record-breaking jump – as it happened Austrian skydiver freefalls from 24 miles above Earth to break sound barrier and the record for highest ever jump Sunday 14 October 2012 17.18 EDT Last modified on Friday 11 November 2016 10.58 EST This article is 4 years old 10.18pm BST So that appears to be a wrap. Felix Baumgartner , diminutive Austrian daredevil, has broken all sorts of records after climbing 24 miles into the sky and hanging from a balloon apparently made of material as thin as one of those bags that cover your dry cleaning. As he gazed down at the world Baumgartner said: “Sometimes you have to go up really high to see how small you are.” Then he jumped. An image that will haunt me for years. On his way down, Baumgartner broke the sound barrier, at one point travelling at 833.9 miles per hour. We are closing the blog now.

Baumgartner has promised this was his last big jump. He now intends to spend his time flying helicopters on rescue missions. Much more relaxing. 9.55pm BST Baumgartner is being quizzed about the - surely - terrifying experience. It was hard to hear what he was saying all the way up in space. The Austrian says: “When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you don’t think about breaking records.” He said all he could think about was getting back alive. “I knew the whole world was watching,” he said. “I wish the world could see.” And I reckon this is Baumgartner’s “one small step” quote: “Sometimes you have to go up really high to see how small you are.” 9.53pm BST The press conference has begun The preliminary numbers are now in. The big one is speed. Baumgartner reached Mach 1.24, meaning he did break the speed barrier. His exit was the highest ever recorded: 128,100ft (39,035 meters). Baumgartner was in freefall for four minutes and twenty seconds.

The freefalling distance was 119,846ft (36,529 meters). His maximum velocity was 373 meters per second. 8.51pm BST Felix Baumgartner to give press conference We are still waiting for the press conference. Felix Baumgartner is probably having a bit of a lie down, he deserves one. The live broadcast screen has gone back to its holding page but did briefly show some wag in mission control putting a man-sized alien mannequin in one of the seats. Or was it a mannequin? Was it really Felix who came back? Will we ever really know? Queue theme from Twilight Zone. The jump broke another record too More than 7.1 million people turned to YouTube for updates. 7.47pm BST Well that was totally exhausting. I’d say I need a Red Bull but I think they’ve had enough publicity for the day. The space jump in summary: Felix Baumgartner has skydived to earth from 128,000ft, that’s about 24 miles, and the highest anyone has ever gone in a balloon.

He appears to have broken the speed of sound – at one point he hit 729mph. But the speed of sound varies with altitude so we are waiting on expert opinion on that one. Updated Felix Baumgartner reaches 100,000 feet. Photograph: guardian.co.uk We are now over 102,000 ft and have passed Kittinger’s record. Updated 6.19pm BST Nice comment from Iain42: “The balloon is 10 times thinner than a sandwich bag and three times larger than any that has carried a man to high altitude." I assume you mean 3 times larger than any balloon and not 3 times larger than any sandwich bag that has carried a man into space, because that would be truly awesome.” Yes sir – I did mean balloon and yes, it would be even more awesome if it was a giant sandwich bag. 6.12pm BST Judging by the comments there’s a lot of science peeps with us today so maybe you can help out. Red Bull are saying Baumgartner will break the speed of sound during his 23 miles of free fall.

The speed of sound varies with altitude, at sea level it is 340 meters per second. So when exactly will he break the sound barrier during freefall? Updated at 6.32pm BST 6.09pm BST Absolutely nothing is happening and yet my heart it pounding like mad. It just seems totally mad to me. 6.06pm BST Baumgartner is now at the heights reached by the Blackbird spy planes. There’s more chatter about some problem with his face mask steaming up. Horrific. Hopefully they will get it sorted before the leap. The capsule has slowed to 14mph and approaching 90,000ft, over 27,000m. 5.59pm BST The balloon is at almost 80,000 ft now – over 15 miles high. Baumgartner plans to ascend to 120,000ft before he gets out. I can’t believe I just typed that. What the hell is he doing? Updated at 8.00pm BST 5.36pm BST He is currently at over 60,00ft (18,000m).

At 63,000ft he will reach The Armstong Line. At that altitude water boils at the normal temperature of the human body meaning that without his suit, Baumgartner would literally cook. No more audio from Baumgartner so far. But there doesn’t seem to be any panic so hopefully that chatter about a red light came to nothing. Updated at 8.01pm BST 5.31pm BST Baumgartner is talking about a red light on his chest pack being on. He said he does not feel heat and said something about mist in his visor. The sound has now gone out from the live feed. Updated at 6.33pm BST 5.13pm BST Baumgartner is now over 37,000ft (11,500m) up where airliners fly, but not today. The Federal Aviation Authority is keeping the area free for his skydive. The balloon is 10 times thinner than a sandwich bag and three times larger than any that has carried a man to high altitude. The 30m cubic feet balloon will expand as the atmosphere gets thinner from its current teardrop shape to swell out to full capacity.

Updated We are on countdown - looks like the ballon is off any second now. 4.23pm BST The current launch time is 12pm EST, 10am local time, but the latest update is that they may go earlier to take advantage of good weather conditions. Baumgartner has now been sitting in his tin can (HT David Bowie) for an hour, apparently he got there at 3am local time. He must have done a gallon of Red Bull by now, in which case he probably has a pounding headache and is being snappy with colleagues. At least that’s what happens to me. The silver balloon looks beautiful against the blue New Mexico sky. It also looks gossamer thin and far too delicate to lift into space. Updated Pinterest close According to the Red Bull blog they will be off in about 30 minutes. Visibility is clear, winds are blowing at 5.5kph, 3.4mph. The balloon is going to take a couple of hours to reach an altitude of 23 miles. 2.28pm BST What could go wrong?

Reuters has put up a truly terrifying list of all the things that could go wrong: Colliding shock waves, triggered by a human body moving faster than the speed of sound, could hit with the force of an explosion, though the risk of this is much less likely in the stratosphere, where the air is extremely thin. The low-pressure environment could cause Baumgartner to go into a flat spin. If a spin lasts for too long, he could lose consciousness and injure his eyes, brain and cardiovascular system. Exposure to vacuum, even for a short period of time, could cause Baumgartner's blood to literally boil. The condition, known as ebullism, causes fluids in the body to turn to gas. Gas seeping into the body due to a relatively rapid exposure to low pressure can cause decompression sickness, or "the bends". As pressure decreases, trapped gas in the body can cause ear blockages, dizziness and acute tooth, sinus and gastrointestinal pain. When decompression is sudden, lungs can over-inflate and collapse. A gas bubble in an artery could stop blood flow. Extremely cold temperatures pose a threat to Baumgartner and his equipment. Excessive heat from the sun is also a risk.

Ultraviolet radiation is more than 100,000 times as strong at 120,000 feet, where Baumgartner plans to begin his jump, as it is at ground level, but Baumgartner should have a very short exposure time. Wind shear could make Baumgartner nauseous and could destroy his balloon. A breach in Baumgartner's protective spacesuit or the accidental deployment of a parachute are considered the biggest safety concerns. Updated close 2.11pm BST If Baumgartner succeeds, he will break a 52-year-old altitude record by Colonel Joe Kittinger, who is Baumgartner’s mentor for this crazy leap. Kittinger set the record for the highest, fastest and longest skydives during a series of terrifying leaps made to test equipment for the US military. Kittinger made three jumps from the stratosphere between 1959 and 1960 as part of “project excelsior” – a series of tests on parachute systems for pilots ejecting at high altitudes. In the first test a stabilizer parachute caught Kittinger around the neck spinning him at 120 revolutions per minute.

Kittinger lost consciousness, but his life was saved by his main parachute which opened automatically at a height of 10,000 feet. He made a second attempt just three weeks later. His third test on 16 August 1960 set the current records as Kittinger fell at 614 miles per hour. For much of the plunge he only had the use of one hand after the pressure seal in one of his gloves failed. He decided not to tell the ground crew about the problem, fearing they would abort the mission. Kittinger, now 84 and living near Orlando, Florida, is also a Vietnam vet, was a prisoner of war and the first man to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon. He was sponsored by the Air Force and his leaps saved countless lives. Baumgartner is sponsored by Red Bull. Ah, modern life. The balloon is filling with hot air and is going to start its ascent any minute now.

Updated at 2.45pm BST 12.57pm BST The daredevil Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner is planning to leap into the record books this morning by plunging to Earth from the edge of space, falling a total of 23 miles at speeds that will break the sound barrier. We will be following developments live here. Baumgartner, 43, has had to delay two earlier attempts to make the leap because of weather conditions. But at present he looks set to get the all clear to jump above the desert in Roswell, New Mexico, this morning. Baumgartner will be jumping in a specially designed survival suit that will keep his body intact as he accelerates from zero to 690 miles per hour in 35 seconds, and becomes supersonic for almost a minute of the roughly 10-minute leap. His body will also be subject to hugely varying pressures as he drops more than 120,000 feet. Without the suit Baumgartner's blood would boil and his lungs might explode.

He will be carried aloft by a gigantic balloon that measures 30m square cubic feet and whose skin is a mere one-tenth the thickness of a sandwich bag despite being 55 storeys high. Attached to the bottom of the balloon is a capsule in which Baumgartner will stand in his suit. At the right height he simply get out and dive into the void. Topics 2012: Highest Freefall Parachute Jump | Guinness World Records 2012: Highest Freefall Parachute Jump By Rachel Swatman Google+ An incredible eight million people signed into YouTube on 14 October 2012 to witness live the moment skydiver Felix Baumgartner did a freefall parachute jump from a height of 38,969.4m, smashing through eight world records and the sound barrier all in one go. Born in Austria in 1969, Felix went on to complete his first skydive at the age of 16. Since then he has continued to challenge himself with extreme parachuting. Felix also started doing BASE jumping – a potentially dangerous sport which involves parachuting or wingsuit flying from a fixed structure or cliff.

He later spent some time in the Austrian military where he perfected his parachute jumping and learnt how to land on small target zones. Before he became a renowned skydiving professional Felix supported himself by repairing motorbikes. But, Felix said, “The air is where I am at home”. In 1988, at the young age of 19, Felix began performing skydiving exhibitions for Red Bull and eventually started working with them on the five year, $20 million Red Bull Stratos Project in 2008 – the project in which Felix would jump from the stratosphere (the second major layer of the Earth’s atmosphere) and complete the Highest freefall parachute jump ever attempted. Felix skydived from a balloon on the edge of space, breaking the record for the Largest balloon with a human on board and the Highest manned balloon flight. The balloon had around 5,097 m³ (180,000 ft³) of helium inserted into it by the crew prior to its launch. This was enough helium for lift off, but did not fill the balloon envelope to capacity because they needed to leave space to allow the helium to expand while the balloon rose.

As the air pressure decreased with the balloon's rising altitude, the helium inside it expanded, eventually filling the entire envelope to its full capacity of approximately 850,000 m³ (30 million ft³) at jump altitude. The helium-filled balloon took Felix on his two hour journey into the stratosphere. Throughout the project, Felix was aided by previous record-holder, 84 years-old Col Joseph Kittinger (USA) who had held the record for 52 years. Felix’s skydive was also an enormous leap for online viewing, with Felix and Red Bull breaking the records for the Most concurrent views for a live event on YouTube and the Largest audience for a livestream ad – a whopping eight million people watched Felix’s journey to space and descent back to Earth. The audience would have been even larger but demand out-weighed server capabilities. The danger of the event was emphasised by the “live” broadcast having a built-in delay, allowing the public to be spared a gruesome spectacle in the event of tragedy. After a tension-building ascent of over two hours, Felix could be heard running through the checklist with Col Kittinger and telling of the unexpected fogging of his visor.

Viewers watched him depressurize the capsule and clamber through the open door to sit on the step, on the edge of space, setting a record for the Highest altitude untethered outside a vehicle. Felix spoke to Euronews about how he felt at this moment: video The view was captured by numerous cameras, allowing the world to see Baumgartner stepping off, falling away rapidly, developing an initially violent spin and recovering control – all blind, due to the fogging of his visor. Felix fell to Earth at a supersonic speed of 1,357.6 km/h (843.6 mi/h), becoming the First human to break the sound barrier (1,235.98 km/h; 768 mi/h) in freefall and breaking the record for the Fastest speed in freefall. After four minutes, he deployed his parachute (16 seconds short of a ninth world record, due to his lack of visibility) before landing safely in New Mexico, USA.

video Following his amazing success, Felix was named to Vienna’s Street of Champions alongside other Austrian and International sports champions in Vienna, and he was nominated for a World Sports Award and for two categories in the NEA Extreme Sports Awards. Felix said he is “officially retired from the daredevil business”, and now puts his efforts into his helicopter and public service as a firefighter. More than an impressive stunt, Felix’s skydive was a scientific challenge during which a lot of useful data was collected. His incredible achievement has led to significant advances in research into the stratosphere and space, as well as spacesuits and safety equipment. Each year our knowledge of these once unreachable places just keeps on growing and there is no saying where we may go next. Share One-Up: Felix Baumgartner Skydive Record Already Broken One-Up: Felix Baumgartner Skydive Record Already Broken Vice Presidential Candidates Talk Tough On Afghan War, Military ROSWELL, NM – Multiple records achieved by Felix Baumgartner only days ago have already been broken, after former record-holders came out of retirement for the most amazing game of one-upsmanship the world has ever seen.

Baumgartner — an Austrian military paratrooper — successfully ascended to the edge of space earlier this week in a balloon and then skydived back to earth, gaining a record for greatest altitude jump and free-fall velocity. 89 year-old General (Ret) Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier on Oct 14, 1947, repeated his historic flight 65 years to the minute, this time rocketing past the speed of sound in an F-15D, on the same day as Baumgartner’s record breaking leap. After the General landed, he borrowed a nearby airman’s cell phone and texted a picture of himself in the cockpit to Air Force Colonel (Ret.) Joe Kittinger, advisor to Baumgartner, and holder of the original sky-diving altitude record, while suggestively grabbing his crotch and pointing at the sky.

Although the Duffel Blog was unable to obtain a copy of the text, witnesses reported that it said “Joe, I just wanted you to know, it’s hard to fit balls like these in a G-Suit.” The message was a double blow to the former fighter pilot and Vietnam POW, who had just witnessed Baumgartner break his long-held record as the highest and fastest skydiver on the planet after almost 40 years. Some insiders believe the animosity between the two men stems from a drunken comment made by Yeager during a 1995 aviation pioneers conference, at which both were keynote speakers. During his speech, Yeager apparently turned to Kittinger and said, “sorry about the movie Joe. Guess you didn’t have the ‘ Right Stuff ’”, which prompted waves of laughter from the audience. The animosity had grown over the years, and while other acclaimed pilots and astronauts had attempted to disarm the feud between the two men, the impressive service record shared between them ensured no other person had the credentials to intrude on the epic dick-measuring contest that has now spanned over half a century.

The only documented instance of another man silencing the two was when Neil Armstrong interrupted a particularly heated argument during an Air Force Academy function, asking Yeager “how it felt to walk on the moon.” After an awkward silence, Kittenger asked those guests in attendance to leave the hall. To this day, Academy faculty are still unsure what transpired, but cadets still report that spending more than ten minutes in the room will trigger spontaneous erections in male flight candidates. Shortly after receiving the inflammatory text from Yeager, during a media event in which a Red Bull public relations team was giving journalists a tour of their Roswell research facility, Kittinger noticed that the helium balloon and pressurized space suit used for Baumgartner’s effort had been left unattended. Kittinger snuck away from the group, discretely put on the suit, rigged his parachute, and climbed inside the balloon’s fiberglass capsule. Then he ascended 40,000 meters into the sky without assistance from mission control, or any type of supplemental oxygen. By the time anyone noticed Kittinger had taken the balloon, he was already halfway to the stratosphere.

“We got on the radio and tried to talk him down,” said Rod Dowley, Red Bull Vice President of Marketing. “He responded, but it was garbled–something about how you can’t keep brass balls on the ground, and to tell Yeager to suck it.” Once he reached a height of 40,500 meters, Kittinger opened the capsule door, gave a one fingered salute and jumped. The octogenarian’s body streaked through the atmosphere at 912 miles (1448 km) per hour, allowing him to reclaim the records for highest skydive, highest balloon ascent, and fastest speed by a human being through the atmosphere. After nearly four and a half minutes of free fall, Kittinger’s parachute opened. He glided safely to the ground, landing in the middle of a confused but impressed crowd of journalists and rescue personnel. “I feel a little bad about the whole thing,” Kittinger said during a hasty post-jump press conference. “Everyone’s been saying how classy I’ve been about passing the torch and all that, and I think Felix really is a great guy.

All I can say is, records are made to be broken.” He then looked directly into the cameras and added, “just like the sound barrier Chuck! And I didn’t need a damn jet engine to do it either!” Colonel Kittinger suddenly cut the rest of the press conference short, saying, “Sorry, folks, I’ve got to go. I’m competing in a motorcycle race in like 15 minutes.” General Yeager was also unavailable for comment, as he was currently en-route to New York City where he was planning on BASE jumping from the top of the Freedom Tower . Related Items Skydiver Baumgartner in 128,000ft plunge from brink of space • The Register Skydiver Baumgartner in 128,000ft plunge from brink of space Steely-sphered Austrian breaks records 14 Oct 2012 at 16:10, Lester Haines Updated Skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped 128,000 feet (24 miles, 39km) out of a balloon today, to complete the highest skydive in history.

It took just under 10 minutes for the Austrian to reach the desert surface below. The Red Bull Stratos space capsule finally got off the ground at Roswell, New Mexico, following two aborts on the 8 and 9 October due to unfavourable winds. Former US Air Force test pilot Joe Kittinger - who in 1960 set the old skydiving record of 31,330m (102,800ft) - was in mission control to offer support via radio to the wedding-tackle-of-steel Austrian. After making the second longest ever free fall (Kittinger's remains the longest in duration ever) and then landing safely in the desert, Baumgartrner described his astonishing ascent and descent: "First we got off with a beautiful launch and then we had a bit of drama with a power supply issue to my visor," he explained. Apparently the daredevil's visor demister proved a bit troublesome, causing worries that he would be unable to see, but the mission went ahead nonetheless. “The exit was perfect but then I started spinning slowly. I thought I’d just spin a few times and that would be that, but then I started to speed up.

It was really brutal at times. I thought for a few seconds that I’d lose consciousness. I didn’t feel a sonic boom because I was so busy just trying to stabilize myself. We’ll have to wait and see if we really broke the sound barrier. It was really a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.” Down, down and awaaay According to the Red Bull Stratos project: After reaching an altitude of 128,100 feet (39,045 meters) in a helium-filled balloon, Felix Baumgartner completed a record breaking jump from the edge of space, exactly 65 years after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier flying in an experimental rocket powered airplane. The 43-year-old Austrian skydiving expert also broke two other world records (highest freefall, highest manned balloon flight), leaving the longest freefall to project mentor Col. Joe Kittinger. Whether the sound barrier was actually breached is a complex matter as the absolute speed of Mach 1 varies with height. However Baumgartner may very well have gone supersonic as he fell - data analysis will give an answer presently.

The various records remain unofficial for the moment, pending verification by the FAI, world body in charge of such things. ® Bootnote If the heroic Baumgartner did go supersonic he will not be the first to do so, nor the record holder for fastest human body travelling through the air. That title is held by Bill Weaver, the pilot of an SR-71 "Blackbird" ramjet spy plane, whose aircraft disintegrated in midflight in 1966 while travelling at better than Mach 3. Weaver, though he did black out, survived, despite the fact that his ejection seat reportedly never left the plane: and he will probably remain the holder of this particular exotic record for some time to come. Sadly his systems-operator companion Jim Zwayer died during the crackup.

Felix Baumgartner | Red Bull Stratos Red Bull Stratos Go Red Bull Stratos Pilot "I love a challenge, and trying to become the first person to break the speed of sound in freefall is a challenge like no other." Felix Baumgartner With a passion for expanding boundaries, especially in the air, Red Bull Stratos pilot Felix Baumgartner is an expert parachutist best known for completing an unprecedented freefall flight across the English Channel using a carbon wing. Felix, born April 20, 1969, grew up in Salzburg, Austria where he dreamed of skydiving and flying helicopters and was inspired by astronauts on TV. He made his first skydive at age 16. After sharpening his parachute skills as a member of a Special Forces demonstration team for the Austrian military, he supported himself by repairing motorcycles before becoming a skydiving professional. Eager to test the limits, Felix set a record for history's lowest BASE jump (from Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer statue), twice set world records for the highest BASE jump from a building (Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and Taipei 101 tower), and even landed his canopy inside a cave in Croatia.

Felix was named to Vienna's Street of Champions and nominated for a World Sports Award and two categories in the NEA Extreme Sports Awards. A licensed gas balloon pilot, he has earned private helicopter licenses in Austria and the United States, as well as a commercial European helicopter license, and he is an advocate for the nonprofit Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation. In training for Red Bull Stratos, Felix divides his time between Switzerland and the United States, but, he says, "The air is where I am at home."

Question: What nationality is Felix Baumgartner, who skydived through the sound barrier in 2012?
Answer: Austrian