Skydiver Felix Baumgartner to Attempt Supersonic Record Jump Oct. 8
Skydiver Felix Baumgartner is looking to claim his place in the record books as the countdown is on for his next amazing jump.
The Austrian parachutist will attempt to reach and survive supersonic speeds when he jumps from a record altitude of 23 miles, according to project managers on Tuesday. The jump will take place on October 8 over the New Mexico skies.
Baumgartner, 43, has been progressively doing longer jumps to prepare for the upcoming event. In March he jumped 13 miles and in July he took on 18 miles all in the hopes to break the top record of 19.5 set in 1960 by Colonel Joe Kittinger.
The jump will take place off of a giant helium balloon that will lift up a pressurized capsule carrying Baumgartner in his pressure suit. Once he takes off from the balloon, in less than 30 seconds he expects to reach top speed of 690 mph to break the sound barrier.
The capsule used for Baumgartner's last two practice jumps was damaged during the previous touchdown. Damage to the outer shell meant that back up parts from a backup capsule had to be used to reassemble the craft he'll use for the jump.
The repairs were the reason the final flight was pushed from August to October, but excellent weather will be required in order to launch the balloon from Roswell.
"I feel like a tiger in a cage waiting to get out," Baumgartner said in a statement.
The event is being privately funded by Red Bull and will be monitored by a NASA-like Mission Control; with the mission known as Red Bull Stratos, short for stratosphere. One of the lead team members is the record-holder Kittinger, who was an Air Force captain at the time when he took part in the military high-jump project.
