Man begins 23-mile skydive bid

Oct 14 2012

An extreme athlete has begun an ascent to 23 miles above the Earth hoping to complete a death-defying freefall that could make him the first skydiver to break the sound barrier.

Austrian Felix Baumgartner took off in a pressurised capsule carried by a 55-storey ultra-thin helium balloon that is expected to take nearly three hours to climb into the stratosphere.

If plans go as expected, Baumgartner, in a high-tech suit, will then jump into a near vacuum with no oxygen to begin what is expected to be the fastest, farthest free fall from the highest-ever manned balloon.

Any contact with the capsule on his exit could tear the pressurised suit, a rip that could expose him to a lack of oxygen and temperatures as low as minus 57C (minus 70F), that could cause potentially lethal bubbles to form in his bodily fluids.