Red Bull: Stratos

Pilot Felix Baumgartner announced today his intention to expand the boundaries of aerospace exploration by attempting to become the first person ever to break the speed of sound with his own body. Baumgartner hopes to ascend in a capsule lifted by a helium balloon to the upper reaches of the stratosphere to at least 120,000 feet and, protected by a full-pressure 'space suit,' launch a freefall jump that could exceed Mach 1.0 - more than 690 miles per hour - before parachuting to Earth. If successful, the Red Bull Stratos mission hopes to establish four world records; the data captured by the mission's world-leading scientists could promise new standards in aerospace safety and enhanced possibilities for human flight.