Red Bull Stratos, a project five years in the making, will finally take flight today. Skydiver Felix Baumgartner will fall from near-space about 23 miles above the Earth’s surface, breaking the speed of sound in the process. He will be the first free-falling human to break the sound barrier. Baumgartner will also collect three other world records: highest manned balloon flight, highest altitude jump (both will be 120,000 feet) and longest time in free fall (about five-and-a-half minutes).
The team’s plan to launch this week has been delayed by windy conditions, but the team hopes today will be the day. Follow our live updates below by refreshing your browser; all times are EST.
2:09PM That was absolutely terrifying and I now have pools of sweat on my laptop. Baumgartner’s legs were spinning wildly and the broadcast cut away for a moment, but he slowed his spin and is in a controlled descent now. He is communicating with Mission Control. Three minutes in freefall now.
2:08PM He’s done it, he’s broken the speed of sound! And he went into what looked like a wild spin, but he’s reestablished a steady fall and is safely descending now.
2:08PM All we hear is Felix’s heavy breathing as an infrared camera tries to keep up with the plummeting Baumgartner.
2:07PM Felix gives a salute, leans over the edge and he jumps! He’s falling! That was fast!
2:06PM Felix gives a thumbs up, literally from the edge of his seat. I’m also on mine.
2:05PM ”Your chute’s okay, Felix!” says Kittinger from Mission Control.
2:04PM His feet are out, preparing to stand. Baumgartner has released his seat belt.
2:03PM Door open! AH! He’s in near-space!
2:01PM Two and a half hours in. Kittinger notes that the door will open automatically once the cabin pressure is low enough.
1:59PM Cabin is being depressurized. The air pressure inside and outside needs to be equal before the door can be opened.
1:57PM Baumgartner confirms that his suit is inflated and pressurized.
1:56PM Temperature is actually above zero up there. Still frigid. Outside air pressure is 0.07 psi. That is incredibly low.
1:55PM “Item 20, adjust helmet tie down.” That one sounds pretty important. Helmet is tied on! Now pressurizing his suit.
1:54PM Baumgartner slides his seat forwards, he’s preparing to open the door.
1:53PM Balloon is holding at 127,708 feet. I have no idea what most of these checklist items mean but they sound really cool. Felix has his visor down and is checking that his helmet is sealed now.
1:52PM Baumgartner is adjusting the cockpit to open up his path to the door.
1:50PM I’m actually sweating right now. Baumgartner now activating his chest pack cameras.
1:48PM And we get radio transmissions back! Time to go through the checklist.
1:46PM Oh well, now he’s rising again. Up to 125,000 feet and suddenly climbing at more than 2,000 feet per minute. I don’t think anybody expected that one. They are discussing releasing some helium from the balloon to stop the climb.
1:45PM Remember, it’s not easy enough to just jump. To prevent going into an uncontrollable spin, Baumgartner will need to hold a “delta position,” diving at an angled pitch with his head downwards and arms at his side.
1:43PM “It looks like the balloon is at its maximum altitude.” Game time! They need to check all systems and begin depressurizing the capsule.
1:42PM Baumgartner will jump. Time to go through the final jump checklist. Hopefully we get some radio transmissions back to listen in.
1:40PM And he’s over 120,000 feet, still rising. We’re very close now.
1:37PM We’re past the two hour mark. Baumgartner’s climb has slowed and temperature is back up to just below zero.
1:34PM Still unclear what happens if they can’t get face heating up and running properly. It’s possible for him to come back down in capsule, but it would be a hairy descent with very little oxygen.
1:32PM 114,000 feet and counting. He now has the record for highest manned balloon flight.
1:31PM Baumgartner’s tinted visor is lowered, and he now appears to be auditioning for the part of evil scientist in E.T.
1:28PM No heating in his face mask is not a problem in capsule, but “would be an issue upon jumping.” No kidding.
1:25PM Here’s an awesome angle of Mission Control we haven’t been shown on the live broadcast. That’s a lot of monitors.
1:24PM And we’re told visor heating is still an issue. We still haven’t heard any radio transmissions between Mission Control and the capsule since they were cut when Baumgartner first mentioned issue. Probably not the best way of handling things…
They finally address the issue of no heat in Baumgartner's face plate, 32 minutes after it was raised & capcomm cut off.
1:22PM So close now. Broadcast makes mention that balloon has traveled higher than calculated float altitude in both test jumps. The jump might actually take place from closer to 130,000 feet if balloon keeps rising.
1:19PM And he’s passed it. Baumgartner now heading for the record for highest manned balloon flight, set in 1961.
1:18PM Baumgartner is closing in on 102,800 feet, the altitude of Joe Kittinger’s record 1960 jump. He apparently made the jump with a slight tear in his suit, which is pretty much insane.
1:14PM The capsule now passing 97,000 feet, Baumgartner’s jump altitude in his July test jump.
1:10PM Baumgartner has two parachutes on his back, his main rig and a reserve chute. He has to be traveling at about 172 miles per hour or slower for them to be deployed safely. The main chute is 270-square-feet and will be deployed at about 5,000 feet above Earth.
1:08PM We’ve got about 30 minutes or so to go. Baumgartner gives the thumbs up from inside the cockpit, so either the face mask heating issue is resolved or our fearless flier is wearing his chapstick. Hoping it’s the former.
1:05PM Capsule now moving at 14 miles per hour. Nearing in on 90,000 feet about an hour and a half in.
1:03PM More information about heating: the faceplate heater has not been working properly, and Mission Control/Baumgartner are currently “troubleshooting” the issue. That took long enough.
1:02PM At over 85,000 feet, Baumgartner is higher than pretty much any airplane can travel. We finally get another look inside the cockpit and everything seems okay.
1:00PM We haven’t heard any radio communication from Mission Control since Baumgartner raised an issue about the heater. He didn’t sound too worried, but we’re still in the dark about whether everything is okay. Thankfully temperature will warm up as he goes higher, though “warm” is still below zero.
12:57PM This is actually the third Red Bull Stratos jump, following two test jumps in the last few months. The second jump was from about 97,000 feet. Baumgartner fell for nearly four minutes in freefall, reaching a top speed of 537 miles per hour.
12:55PM Baumgartner will break the speed of sound (about 690 miles per hour at that altitude) in about 30-40 seconds after jumping. Scientists and physicists are actually not sure what will happen then. Some believe there are not enough air particles to cause much of a shock/sonic boom. Others are not so certain.
12:52PM Baumgartner can now see the curvature of the Earth. The balloon is beginning to take on a more rounded shape at this altitude.
12:51PM Everything looks very simple and easygoing, but human beings should not be able to survive here. Check out this piece on Baumgartner’s suit, designed by the David Clark Company, and how it keeps him alive.
12:49PM Wow. Apparently in last test jump Baumgartner couldn’t hear whether his parachute was okay, so he jumped without knowing. Crazy.
12:48PM Baumgartner can’t see behind him because of helmet/suit, so he has a mirror in the capsule and Kittinger will inform him from mission control if parachute is okay.
12:45PM Temperature now warming back up. It’s at about -72°F. Here’s a cool graph from Red Bull Stratos about temperature changes at high altitudes.
12:43PM Capsule at 70,000 feet. Baumgartner has a ton of silent time to himself; I wonder if he’s come up with a pre-jump quote.
12:39PM Broadcast gives some cool background shots of preparation. The capsule was brought out about 12 hours ago, and Baumgartner was up and about inspecting everything.
12:34PM Oh, why the Armstrong Line is important: without pressurization, Baumgartner’s bodily fluids would be boiling at this altitude.
12:32PM Baumgartner passing 63,000 feet momentarily, colloquially known as the Armstrong Line, named for Harry George Armstrong, founder of the Air Force’s Department of Space Medicine.
12:31PM He’s at 61,000 feet – about halfway up - now at an hour after launch. No more audio from Mission Control, but hopefully the heat issue is minor and/or easily fixed.
12:30PM Uh oh, Baumgartner reports he does not feel heat from his space heater. He sounds incredibly composed about it, especially considering it’s about -100°F up there.
12:29PM More on going supersonic – because of the thinness of the air, Baumgartner won’t hit a terminal velocity like skydivers do.
12:28PM You can’t see it in the video stream, but Baumgartner is wearing a chest pack that includes cameras, a GPS and recorders for speed and altitude. Best of all, it has a ringtone for when Baumgartner breaks the speed of sound. It unfortunately isn’t a catchy song.
12:25PM Kittinger sounds like the proud parent of a kid who decided ball sports just weren’t death-defying enough.
12:22PM At jump altitude Baumgartner will have to depressurize capsule before opening door. If he didn’t then the rapid depressurization would pretty much explode the capsule. Imagine every action movie where a gun goes off in a plane and then multiply it a few million times.
12:20PM The capsule is officially in the stratosphere and is ascending at about 600 feet per minute.
12:18PM Kittinger and Baumgartner now running through simulated jump checklist. Outside temperature is now about -92°F.
12:14PM Baumgartner at 50,000 feet about 45 minutes in. The entire ascent will take more than two hours. He’ll re-trace it heading downwards in about 15-20 minutes.
12:12PM Kittinger checks in as the two begin another cockpit check, running through altitude, temperature and air pressure readings.
12:10PM Kittinger is the launch team’s quarterback on the ground. He was apparently more disappointed than Baumgartner when Tuesday’s launch was aborted because of wind.
12:08PM Interesting note about the balloon: it will expand to massive dimensions in the low atmosphere of near-space and take on a much more rounded, spherical shape.
12:07PM Stratos team discussing the possibility of dropping some ballast to quicken Baumgartner’s ascent.
12:06PM 40,000 feet. Outside temperature is -69°F or so.
12:04PM Capsule currently rising at about 117 miles per hour. Sounds kind of fast until you consider that Baumgartner will be falling at about 700mph.
12:03PM The jump today will also have some pretty serious implications for the future of spacesuit design. The long-term hope is that we can one day develop a suit that would allow a human to reenter the atmosphere from space without the help of a spaceship. A successful jump today will be a big step forward.
12:01PM Red Bull is getting some incredible exposure around the world with today’s launch. No direct payoff from tickets or TV deals, but nobody is going to forget today’s Bull-branded leap for quite some time.
12:00PM Action sports fans will know that this is just the latest Red Bull project to test the limits of human performance. To read more about the company’s past events, check here.
11:58AM The suit is also pressurized to the air pressure of about 35,000 feet – where Baumgartner is just passing now.
11:57AM More about the suit keeping Baumgartner safe: it protects from temperatures as low as -90°F to as high as more than 100°F.
11:55AM And he’s clear of 30,000 feet. Still a while to go until he reaches about 120,000, the “float” altitude from which he will leap.
11:54AM In case he does lose consciousness, Baumgartner is wearing a reserve parachute that will automatically open at a predetermined altitude. The same technology saved Kittinger’s life more than 50 years ago when he passed out during a high-altitude jump.
11:52AM The bends are actually on the safe side of the risks Baumgartner will face. The air pressure at jump height is so low that his blood would literally boil if not for his suit. The air is also so thin that he could go into an uncontrollable spin and lose consciousness.
11:51AM Like a scuba diver, Baumgartner is at risk for “the bends,” or decompression sickness associated with such a rapid change in air pressure.
11:49AM The capsule is pressurized to the air pressure of about 16,000 feet, greatly helping Baumgartner contend with such a high-altitude flight.
11:47AM At more than 22,000 feet, Baumgartner is well above the altitude that most skydivers jump from.
11:44AM They are now discussing Baumgartner’s comfort in the visibly cramped capsule. It’s basically the daredevil’s version of a cubicle, except he then jumps out the window at the end of the work day.
11:42AM With all the talk of breaking the speed of sound it’s easy to forget just how many details there are in a launch like this. Baumgartner is currently running through specific things like the ambient temperature and nitrogen levels in the capsule.
11:40AM Baumgartner and Kittinger check readings for altitude and oxygen level in the capsule.
11:39AM We get our first audio of radio transmissions between the capsule and Mission Control.
11:35AM Baumgartner has passed 10,000 feet and any concerns about wind are quickly being forgotten.
11:34AM The balloon will rise at more than 1,000 feet per minute and eventually level off at around 120,000 feet above Earth, where Felix will then jump.
11:33AM Kittinger is the only person in Mission Control who will have communication with Baumgartner during the launch.
11:32AM We see Joe Kittinger in Mission Control. Kittinger holds most of the records that Baumgartner will try to break today.
11:31AM Baumgartner is grinning like a kid on Christmas as the capsule takes off. His mother watches with tears in her eyes as he quickly takes to the sky.
11:30AM Balloon is released! It’s rising fast as the crane drives under the balloon. And it’s released!
11:28AM The balloon’s “tail,” or tether portion connecting it to the capsule, is about six hundred feet long. The capsule won’t be released from the crane until the balloon tail is fully taut.
11:26AM And the broadcast goes live! Helicopters are airborne and we get an aerial shot of the launch area. The pressurized capsule is sealed shut.
11:23AM Balloon inflation is complete! We’re a few minutes away from the live broadcast and launch should come shortly thereafter.
11:22AM I’m starting to get nervous sitting on the other side of the country, can’t imagine what it must feel like on the ground in Roswell.
11:18AM Launch is minutes away. The live launch broadcast with sound will begin at 11:25 EST.
11:16AM Live broadcast! Baumgartner gives a thumbs up to his team members as the door is closed.
11:15AM We finally get a new camera angle and see the full set-up. Balloon inflation takes place a few hundred feet from the capsule. A group of team members are moving up towards the top of the capsule now to make some final preparations.
11:08AM Not much news to report as we await our next update in about seven minutes or so. There are a few landed helicopters in the background so hopefully that means we’ll be getting some cool camera angles after launch.
11:03AM Hard to imagine what it feels like being strapped into that capsule for hours on end. Baumgartner was strapped in early this morning to begin pre-breathing, it then takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to fill the balloon and he has another two-plus hour wait as the capsule ascends to 23 miles up.
11:00AM The launch capsule, currently suspended off the ground by a crane, weighs about 2,900 pounds (roughly as much as a VW Beetle). It’s been used in Baumgartner’s two previous test jumps and needed some minor repairs after a rough landing.
10:53AM There is actually a crew of about 12-15 members who are tasked solely with handling balloon inflation. They have to wear certain clothing that won’t snag the balloon, and those handling the actual balloon material wear cotton gloves.
10:51AM Looks like they are moving the capsule closer to the balloon. It’s a slow, tedious process and even then the capsule is visibly rocking.
10:48AM The balloon is seriously enormous. It’s top will reach to about 700 feet up before launch and it has a capacity of 30 million cubic feet.
10:45AM Spotted a few high fives being shared among team members, and we get our first shot of the balloon being filled!
10:42AM Our next update from the team should come in a few minutes. Hopefully we’ll get some good news!
10:40AM The team is releasing smaller balloons to track wind speed and direction at various altitudes.
10:23AM He was also the first person to BASE jump off Taipei 101, then the world’s tallest building. To complete that jump a friend created a distraction so he could scale a rooftop barrier and leap. Wild.
10:22AM Some cool facts about Baumgartner: he holds to record for the lowest BASE jump after leaping from a hand of Brazil’s Chris the Redeemer, just 95 feet above the ground.
10:19AM Even calm winds more than a few miles per hour can be dangerous because of the size of the balloon being used. Hopefully the weather clears for long enough that the team can fill the balloon and send Baumgartner on his hours-long upward journey.
10:18AM The latest update: they have yet to begin filling the balloon and won’t begin the process until winds calm down enough for a safe launch.
10:17 AM Our broadcast goes live! We get our first shot of Baumgartner in his capsule. He is pre-breathing as the team keeps close tabs on winds about 700 feet up.
World's Biggest Daredevils
This is list is far from comprehensive, and it reflects a slight bias towards past resumes over current or recent achievements. But all ten of these athletes have pushed the very limits of human performance and rank among the most daring people currently walking the earth. Join us in the comments section to tell us who we missed or who you think is the world's top daredevil.10:15AM We also discussed the world’s biggest daredevils earlier this week. Who makes your list?
10:12AM Red Bull Stratos has created a cool game in which you can guess where Baumgartner will land after his jump. Check it out here.
10:10AM Some cool facts while we wait: the helium balloon is just 0.0008 inches thick. Unfilled, it weighs 3,708 pounds and would cover 40 acres if laid flat. Reportedly it’s the largest balloon to ever be blown up.
10:05AM Baumgartner has been pre-breathing pure oxygen for about an hour now. The pre-breathing process is supposed to reduce the amount of nitrogen in his body, helping him safely handle the rapid changes in air pressure.
10:02AM Mike Todd, the team’s life support engineer, is doing some final checks on the capsule along with his team. Baumgartner is currently geared up and running through his launch checklist.
9:52AM The Red Bull Stratos team is moving forward with plans to launch today. The team is aiming for a launch time of 11:15 EST, but our next update should come in about 20 minutes. Stay tuned!
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