Felix Baumgartner now tabs Sunday for 23-mile-high skydive

*Note: This is reprinted from a Pete Thomas post on the GrindTv outdoor blog

Felix Baumgartner, after two weather postponements this week, will try again Sunday to parachute from the edge of space and become the first skydiver to break the sound barrier.

Wind caused postponements on Monday and Tuesday, the latest after the Austrian daredevil had climbed into his pressurized space capsule and prepared to be hoisted, via a towering white balloon, 23 miles above the launch site at Roswell, New Mexico.

Wind is expected to be light Sunday but it will have to be extremely light, less than 3 mph, for the Red Bull Stratos project to get a green light.

When Baumgartner was informed that Tuesday's launch had been aborted, by project director Art Thompson, he thought his team was joking.

"I couldn't tell what was happening with the balloon because I was in the capsule," said Baumgartner. "I want this to happen this year. We've made it so far. There's no turning back. We're here, we've got the helium and we're good to go. Whether that's tomorrow or the first day next week, I don't really care."

If Baumgartner, 43, is successful Sunday, he'll shatter a skydiving altitude record set in 1960 by former Air Force colonel Joseph Kittinger, who is now part of the Stratos mission. Kittinger's jump was from 102,800 feet.

Baumgartner, after jumping from 120,000 feet in a pressurized space suit, expects to reach a speed of nearly 700 mph and break the sound barrier about 35 seconds into a five-minute free-fall.

The epic leap, if it occurs, will mark the culmination of a project that has been more than five years in the planning. Baumgartner already has completed practice jumps from 71,580 and 97,146 feet, in March and July, respectively.

Sunday's launch and the jump will air via webcast on the Stratos home page.

--Image showing Felix Baumgartner during a test jump from in June is courtesy of Red Bull

Comments

[Peter]

That was truly and amazing thing to watch. I didn't even mind the wait.It actually made the jump more suspenseful.I made some memes to celebrate his and Red Bull's achievement

Part 1: .http://cmemes.com/felix/

Part 2: http://cmemes.com/felix-baumgartner-jump-landing-memes-part-2/ (Updated)

[Russ]

My Pleasure, Cant wait for the jump/fall. :)

[Pete Thomas]

Thanks, Russ. I just made the fix.

[Russ]

"--Image showing Felix Baumgartner during a test jump from a helicopter in June is courtesy of Red Bull"

Sure looks like a plane to me :)

[Felix Baumgarten]

Checkout the newest NEWS on the Space Jump of Felix Baumgarten and the Red Bull Stratos Team on http://red-bull-stratos-felix-baumgartner.blogspot.com

[Curatica]

God spared this man's life twice. But man has free will; if he is determined to break his neck, and die he will do it, no matter what.