Balloon launch hints at jump attempt

From KRQE-TV.com - It appears a once suspended attempt at a world-record parachute jump over New Mexico from the edge of outer space may be back on track. The energy-drink company Red Bull, sponsors of the "Red Bull Stratos" project, confirms it has a balloon launch crew at work in Roswell. The crew attempted to launch a stratospheric balloon from the Roswell Industrial Air Center Thursday morning, but the tall clear plastic balloon collapsed after inflation. Airport staff would only say that the launch was "scratched," possibly due to winds, and referred all other questions to Red Bull. Although Red Bull will not confirm the nature of its testing at Roswell, Federal Aviation Administration notices indicate this week's flight was bound for the far upper atmosphere. That is where someday Red Bull hopes to drop its skydiver, Felix Baumgartner, from a stratospheric balloon. If successful, he would set several new world records and collect data on new pressure-suit designs. The records would include highest free-fall altitude, fastest free-fall (about Mach 1, 340 mph), highest manned balloon flight (120,000 feet) and longest free-fall (more than 5 1/2 minutes). The altitude record Baumgartner hopes to break was set by former Air Force Col. Joe Kittinger, who is now a consultant on the Red Bull Stratos team. In 1960 Kittinger jumped above New Mexico from a balloon almost 20 miles up over Alamogordo. He reached a speed of 614 mph in free-fall and collected data for putting humans in space and for escape systems. "We helped NASA design the Mercury capsule," he said. "And we helped work on the escape systems. And they are still using what we used 50 years ago." Read more

Balloon launch hints at jump attempt