This story was updated at 9 p.m. ET.
A skydiver is making progress with plans to leap from near the edge of space
in a dive that would break world records and the sound barrier.
Austrian daredevil Felix
Baumgartner is a step closer to attempting the feat after a series of
recent high-altitude test jumps. He plans to make his ambitious jump attempt
later this year.
Starting in the stratosphere at 120,000 feet above the ground, Baumgartner
will leap from a capsule suspended by a helium balloon near the boundary of
space.
Sponsored by the energy drink company Red Bull, Baumgartner's mission —
called Red
Bull Stratos — seeks to extend the "safety zone" of human
atmospheric bailout last set in 1960 by diver Joe Kittinger. This limit defines
the uppermost altitude a human being can safely jump from.
"Right now, the space shuttle escape system is certified to 100,000
feet," said the mission's medical director Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight
surgeon. "Why is that? Because Joe Kittinger went there. You've got a lot
of companies that are vying for the role of being the commercial space
transport provider for tourism, for upper atmospheric science, and so on. These
systems, particularly during the test and development phase, need a potential
escape system, which we may be able to help them provide with the knowledge we
gain." [Graphic:
Earth's Atmosphere From Top to Bottom]
Taking the leap
A team of aeronautics experts recently led Baumgartner through a week of
testing meant to illuminate any possible weaknesses in his equipment and to
familiarize him with the skills needed to navigate the conditions expected to
assail him as soon as he opens his vessel door.
Only a few feet above ground in a capsule dangling from a crane on Sage
Cheshire Aerospace test grounds in California, Baumgartner practiced exiting
and stepping off his hot-air balloon. Even a slight stumble during this step
could cause dangerous alterations in his in-flight position only moments later,
as well as reduce his chances of actually breaking the sound barrier.
"The team anticipated that the capsule would tip forward when Felix moved
his approximately 270-pound self from the seated center position of the capsule
to the step-off platform on the edge of the capsule," Red Bull Stratos
Aerial Strategist and Skydiving Consultant Luke Aikins told SPACE.com.
"What the exercise demonstrated was that the capsule moved only about a
foot, which tells us that we don't have to worry about the capsule swinging
back violently when Felix steps off."
Baumgartner proceeded to practice his step-off technique from higher up by
doing bungee jumps while wearing a pressurized spacesuit and helmet. At 200
feet above ground in an abandoned fairground, the setting was a far cry from a high-altitude
jump, but mimicked the sensation of trying to achieve the necessary forward
rotation, said mission technical director Art Thompson. After a few leaps, one
team member described Baumgartner's performance as "perfect."
"We still have an unknown, which is what happens to my body when I
break the speed of sound, but at least we're going to know that I'm able to
handle the step-off," Baumgartner said.
Improved equipment
Lastly, the pilot passed several high altitude test dives at 26,000 feet
over the desert in Perris, California. Thanks to a new chest pack aligned to
one side of his body, Baumgartner exhibited a harmonious passage compared to
previous trials a year earlier.
The previous chest pack had jammed his helmet, blocked his vision and
constrained his movement during descent and the critical landing.
During the recent tests, body positions and suit deflation went well enough
that the team accomplished all of its objectives.
Dive to death
No simple showman, Baumgartner wondered if the dangerous pioneering mission
would mean his own death.
"My biggest concern is that dangerous part of the project which we just
haven't thought of," Baumgartner said in a statement. "We try
to think of every contingency, but there's always going to be something that
you would never imagine could happen. And that might kill you."
The possibility has proved daunting enough to impact his decision to invite
his own mother to watch the dive.
"If everything is successful, I would love to have her on site, because
the first person that I would want to talk with is my mom, of course," he
said. "But if something goes wrong, I definitely don't want my mum on
site, because I don't want her to witness a fatality. So I still haven't made
up my mind."
According to a press officer for Red Bull, the actual experiment will take
place somewhere in North America in 2010. Along with a range of experts and
test pilots, mentor and former record-setter Joe Kittinger will also be
present.
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