The Red Bull Stratos Mission is a mission teetering on the edge of space. It involves one man, one balloon, and one jump from the edge of space with the goal of breaking the speed of sound. Felix Baumgartner and his team of experts plan to lift him to 120,000 feet in a stratospheric balloon and make a freefall jump, hurtling towards Earth at supersonic speeds reaching 700 mph. By reaching these speeds, he hopes to be the first human to reach Mach 1 and break the sound barrier during a skydive freefall. 

The ramifications of this jump are immense, not just for breaking a record set by Joe Kittinger during his record jump from 102,800 ft in 1960, but to again dare atmospheric limits and provide valuable medical and scientific research data for future pioneers. The Stratos team brings together some of the world’s greatest minds in aerospace medicine, engineering, pressure suit development, capsule creation and balloon fabrication — and even includes retired United States Air Force Colonel Joseph Kittinger, whose record Felix looks to beat.

read the complete article @ Red Bull Stratos: Skydiving From the Edge of Space.