Click here to watch: Felix Baumgartner Jump Video on YouTube, Recorded Video of Freefall from Space
Felix Baugartner, Austrian skydiver and base jumper, will attempt the highest skydive from 120,000 feet up. Watch the Red Bull Stratus video online at 8 a.m. ET [Correction: earliest launch is at 1:15 p.m. ET] as he leaps from the edge of space, free-falling for over 5 minutes.
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Baugartner will be wearing a 260-lb protective suit completely pressurized along with specialized equipment. His parachute, capsule and weather balloon have all be designed by experts to attempt this record-breaking stunt.
"I'll probably feel the most anxious when I'm trying to sleep in the hours before I start getting ready - when everything's quiet and it's just me and my thoughts," said Baugartner on the Red Bull Stratos website.
According to the website, here are the final hours before Baugartner is launched to space:
Minus 4h00: Baumgartner will head to the runway where, as is habitual for the experienced pilot before every flight, he will conduct a meticulous inspection of the capsule.
Minus 2h30: In Baumgartner's personal trailer, he will undergo a final medical check, and a compact, state-of-the-art physiological monitoring system will be strapped to his chest to be worn under his pressure suit throughout the mission.
Minus 2h00: Life Support Engineer Mike Todd will dress Baumgartner in his suit, a painstaking process, and the Austrian will 'pre-breathe' oxygen for two hours to eliminate nitrogen from his bloodstream, which could expand dangerously at altitude. Videos will help pass the time as he awaits the announcement that his balloon inflation has begun and he can move to the capsule.
Minus 0h30: Baumgartner will be strapped into his capsule chair to conduct final instrument checks as directed by Mission Control. Then Capsule Engineer Jon Wells will seal the clear acrylic door. For a several more long minutes of anticipation, Baumgartner will await countdown and, finally, launch.
