Man To Break Sound Barrier // With His Body

Who is this bad ass fellow sitting in what appears to be a space suit you may ask? Felix Baumgartner a certified, hardcore bad ass. What’s on his mind?  The crazy thing he’s planning to do.  He plans to take a weather balloon to the edge of space, about 120,000 feet in the air, and then jump out of it.  Now you may say to yourself, “I’ve heard about some crazy guy that did that like 40 years ago” and you would be right.  Baumgartner will join Captain Joe Kittinger of the United States Air Force as the second man to jump from near space.  Kittinger jumped on August 16, 1960, from the Excelsior III balloon which reached an altitude of 102,800 feet.  For better perspective 102,800 feet is 19.47 miles up in the sky.  That’s a hell of a drop!  Compared to Kittinger,  Baumgartner might have it easy, technology has come a long way and his suite looks far more suited, literally, for the task.  Kittinger’s suit looks a little old school lacking:

Kittinger’s jump wasn’t without it’s problems.  His old school suit did well for the most part but failed him in one spot.  His right glove failed to remain pressurized and his hand swelled to twice it’s normal size. Hopefully, this second jump will go smoothly and Baumgartner’s suit will hold up to the incredible lack of pressure and harsh conditions.  The jump will be sometime this year, with a few test jumps before, all part of Red Bull’s new Stratus mission campaign.  Kittinger will even be involved working with ground control!  Personally I’m excited, America needs to get back to it’s pioneering attitude and bring excitement back to space and being a little crazy when it comes to exploring the universe around us.

~kevin