Red Bull Stratos Project
Author: peter Date: 14 November, Category: Wow, Visits 2243
[Felix Baumgartner (born 20 April 1969 in Salzburg, Austria) is a skydiver and a BASE jumper. He is renowned for the particularly dangerous nature of the stunts he has performed during his career. Baumgartner spent time in the Austrian military where he practiced parachute jumping, including training to land on small target zones.
In 1999 he claimed the world record for the highest parachute dive from a building when he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
On 31 July 2003, Baumgartner became the first person to cross the English Channel in freefall using a specially made fibre wing.
Baumgartner set the world record for the lowest BASE jump ever, from the hand of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.
He became the first person to BASE jump from the completed Millau Viaduct in France on 27 June 2004 and the first person to sky dive onto, then BASE jump from, the Turning Torso building in Malmö, Sweden on 18 August 2006.
On 12 December 2007 he became the first person to jump from the 91st floor observation deck, then went to the 90th floor (about 390 m (1,280 ft)) of the then tallest completed building in the world, Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan.
In January 2010, it was reported that Baumgartner was working with a team of scientists and sponsor Red Bull to attempt the highest sky-dive on record. Baumgartner was going to do the 120,000 ft (36,600 m) jump from a capsule suspended from a balloon filled with helium, intending to become the first parachutist to break the sound barrier; the feat was scheduled to take place sometime in 2011. Joseph Kittinger, who holds the records Baumgartner is attempting to break, was advising Baumgartner during the [Stratos] mission in the hopes of getting scientific data on next-generation full pressure suits. However, on October 12, 2010, Red Bull announced it was placing the project on hold after Daniel Hogan filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in Los Angeles, California in April, claiming he had originated the idea of the parachute dive from the edge of space in 2004 and that Red Bull had stolen the idea from him. The lawsuit was resolved out of court in June 2011 and on 5 February 2012, The Daily Telegraph reported that the jump was back on]. – Wikipedia
In this photo provided by Red Bull, Pilot Felix Baumgartner (L) of Austria and USAF colonel (ret.) Joe Kittinger of the United States pose with the capsule for Red Bull Stratos on February 23, 2012 in Lancaster, California, USA. (Photo by Joerg Mitter/Red Bull via Getty Images)
Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria seen on his way to the capsule during the first manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos on March 15, 2012 in Roswell, New Mexico. In this test he reach the altitude 21800 meters (71500 ft) and landed safely near Roswell. Red Bull Stratos is a mission to the edge of the earths atmosphere, where upon reaching altitude of 120,000 feet by helium baloon, pilot and basejumper Felix Baumgartner will then freefall to the ground in an attempt to break the speed of sound. (Photo by Joerg Mitter/Red Bull via Getty Images)
Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria is seen before his jump during the first manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos on March 15, 2012 in Roswell, New Mexico. In this test he reach the altitude 21800 meters (71500 ft) and landed safely near Roswell. Red Bull Stratos is a mission to the edge of the earths atmosphere, where upon reaching altitude of 120,000 feet by helium baloon, pilot and basejumper Felix Baumgartner will then freefall to the ground in an attempt to break the speed of sound. (Photo by Jay Nemeth/Red Bull via Getty Images)