Fearless Felix’s Aborted Skydive Rescheduled
Felix Baumgartner has rescheduled his aborted 23-mile plunge from space. He decided to postpone it due to high winds above the Roswell, New Mexico desert. If you’ve been under a rock (which is easy to do these days) or just don’t read much about events like this, then you are probably not familiar with Felix Baumgartner. Felix was in the Austrian military where he was trained in parachute jumping and especially hitting small targets. Most of his post-military life has been spent BASE jumping. This has basically prepared him for this daring, life-threatening stunt. He’s already made two practice jumps at 13 and 18 miles up.
On October 10th he was to launch himself from a capsule attached to a 55-story weather balloon at an altitude of 23 miles. Unfortunately, the winds did not cooperate and the jump was called off. With a new date on the calendar, anticipation is back in the air. October 14th will dawn with all eyes on Baumgartner and his custom-made flight suit. Red Bull, which is sponsoring the event, will be streaming live on the internet and Baumgartner’s space suit sports five hi-def cameras so you won’t miss the action. The feed goes live at 6:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time on Sunday and actual jump times will be updated as weather permits.
Some folks may look at these as just stunts, but much information can be learned about the body in free-fall and in the upcoming age of commercial space flight, this will be important information. Baumgartner will be setting a record with this jump that has been held since 1960 by Colonel Joe Kittinger who leapt from 102,800 feet. In fact, Kittinger is the lead member of Baumgartner’s team. Did I mention that Felix is also going to go supersonic on this jump? That’s right, he expects to break the sound barrier within 40 seconds of jumping.
Question: Felix is in a class of famous “nut jobs” and thrill-seekers. Who is the most famous that you have heard of or can recall by name?
You can watch live and read more about Felix at the links below.
Watch Live at Red Bull Stratos Youtube Channel
The Red Bull Stratos Home Page
Written by James Pickering
