MailOnline February 7th, 2012 -  

Daredevil who'll leap off the edge of space: Skydiver prepares for 23 mile jump

By CHRIS BROOKE

It will be one giant leap for man  – and leave the rest of mankind  dizzy at the thought.

The world’s most daring skydiver is preparing to jump out of a balloon on the edge of space.  Felix Baumgartner, 42, hopes to break an altitude record which has lasted more than 50 years.  He plans to dive 120,000ft – nearly 23 miles – from the adapted weather balloon full of helium.  It should take 35 seconds to break the sound barrier and ten minutes in all, reaching more than 690mph.

Baumgartner will not deploy his parachute until he is less than 5,000ft from the ground and he must rely on an astronaut suit and oxygen tanks to keep him alive.

His team is expected to announce  formally this week that he will make  the record-breaking jump above New  Mexico in August.

Baumgartner will make two test jumps at 60,000ft and 90,000ft in the coming months before the world record attempt, sponsored by the energy drink manufacturer Red Bull.

To Read more about the Mission, visit Felix's website... http://www.redbullstratos.com/