Air Force's Department of Space Medicine in 1947)-is so thin that, if not protected, human blood will literally boil. The atmosphere above 12 miles, or 63,000 feet (19,200 meters)-known as the Armstrong line (named for Harry George Armstrong, who founded the U.S. "It feels like, if Joe's there, nothing can go wrong." "I'll be the only one that knows exactly how Felix feels at that moment when he jumps from the step, 'cause I've done it," Kittinger says in Space Dive, a National Geographic Channel documentary to air in November.īaumgartner agrees: " knows how lonely you are at that altitude." In fact, Baumgartner will not allow any voice other than Kittinger's in his helmet, so that's how the scientific and medical team on the ground will communicate with him. He's a trained athlete, he's an aviator." They have a special bond. "I felt that he was dedicated, that he was sincere. Kittinger, after years of refusing to help see his record broken, is now enthusiastically behind Baumgartner. (See classic pictures of Kittinger's skydive.) Air Force colonel and current Red Bull Stratos team member, who fell 19.5 miles (31.3 kilometers) on August 16, 1960. The current free fall record is held by Joseph Kittinger, a retired U.S. Originally scheduled for Monday but postponed due to projected high winds, the feat would make him the first human to break the sound barrier without the propulsion, or protection, of a vehicle. Seven years in the making, the so-called Red Bull Stratos Mission to the Edge of Space is expected to break records as the highest, fastest, and longest-duration skydive.īaumgartner's team estimates the Austrian sky diver and helicopter pilot will reach Mach 1.2-roughly 690 miles (1,110 kilometers) an hour-and free-fall for five and a half minutes before opening a parachute at 5,000 feet (1,524) to float him to the ground. When the weather is right and all systems are go, he'll exit the capsule in a pressurized suit and free-fall to Earth. If all goes as planned this week, Felix Baumgartner will step off a small platform and skydive into history.īaumgartner will climb to around 23 miles (37 kilometers) above New Mexico in a pressurized capsule attached to history's largest helium balloon-55 stories tall and as wide as a football field. Update: Felix Baumgartner's Red Bull Stratos jump has been delayed until at least Sunday due to strong winds.
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