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Skydiver Baumgartner's 120,000ft spacesuit leap delayed by bad wind

'Sorry chaps, we'll try again tomorrow, eh?'

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Titanium-testicled skydiver Felix Baumgartner is poised to make his attempt on the world's highest free-fall record.

The Austrian - who described himself as "like a tiger in a cage waiting to get out" - was due to leap from his Red Bull Stratos space capsule today at a planned altitude of 36,576m (120,000ft) over the New Mexico desert. However, the weather has forced a 24-hour launch delay.

In July, Baumgartner jumped from an altitude of 29,455m (96,640ft), hitting 586.92km/h (364.69mph) during the free fall part of his drop. Here's a video of his descent:

Baumgartner hopes to best US Air Force test pilot Joe Kittinger's 1960 skydiving record of 31,330m (102,800ft). The Austrian also set his sights on the first supersonic free fall, which means he'll have to hit 1,110 km/h (690mph) at altitude to break the sound barrier.

He'll be carried aloft in a pressurised 1,315kg (2,899lb) capsule under a whopping balloon packing 850,000 cubic meters of helium, before plunging into the history books to the sound of a full orchestral soundtrack, if this video is anything to go by:

There are details on how you can follow tomorrow's real-life action live right here. ®

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helium

Glad to see the helium we're running out of isn't going to waste...

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First rule of spaceflight

> spacesuit leap delayed by bad wind

Don't fart in your spacesuit

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Re: helium

Perhaps if the price of helium for frivolous use was multiplied by 10 then what remains could be sold at normal price for MRI scanners, and the like.

3
0

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