Skydiving from 120,000 Feet Above the Surface

The Red Bull Stratos challenge is getting ready to be on its way. Sponsored by energy drinks company Red Bull, the endeavor seeks to have extreme athlete and daredevil Felix Baumgartner, 41, from Australia, jump from a high-altitude balloon. The goal is to set a new world record.

Basically, the man will jump from the edge of space, at an altitude of about 120,000 feet (36,576 meters). Such a high jump has never been attempted before, and the challenges associated with it are extreme in their own right.

But undoubtedly the most amazing aspect of this jump is the fact that Baumgartner is expected to exceed the speed of sound as he descends. If he accomplishes this, then he will become the only person to do so, and the only thing other than an airplane to accomplish such a feat.

He will be launching from Earth's stratosphere, where only limited amounts of air are available for breathing. The daredevil will be equipped with a specialized, pressurized flight suit that will keep him warm and relatively safe during the 5-minute, 45-second descent.

There are also three other, 50-year-old records that would fall if Baumgartner is successful. The first is for the highest skydive ever conducted, the second is for the highest-ever manned balloon flight, and the third is for the longest-duration fall.

Space reports that the balloon carrying the daredevil is now ready for its planned August launch date, after a series of legal battles marring the project were concluded earlier this year. The balloon will launch from Roswell, New Mexico.

During his descent, the athlete will wear a series of sensors, which will monitor the effects that such a dive has on the human body. His physical condition will be analyzed from multiple angles at all times.

“This mission is all about pioneer work. Maybe one day people will look back and say it was Felix Baumgartner and the Red Bull Stratos team that helped to develop the suit that they're wearing in space. We want to do something for posterity,” Baumgartner said in a statement released on February 7.

“Never before has anyone gone supersonic without being in an aircraft. Red Bull Stratos is testing new equipment and developing the procedures for inhabiting such high altitudes as well as enduring such extreme acceleration,” Red Bull Stratos medical director Jonathan Clark adds.