Fearless Felix Ready To Take The Plunge…Tomorrow
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
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UPDATE Oct. 9, 2012 12:45PM: The balloon was being inflated. The live broadcast had started. But just a few moments later winds came in and ruined today’s mission for Felix Baumgartner to launch towards the edge of space.
Red Bull Stratos said the mission has been aborted due to “gusty winds.” On the live broadcast, as the video showed the helium balloon being inflated, winds began to push the balloon and make an aborted mission seem inevitable.
The team had already faced five hours of weather delays, but it took that final gust of wind to abort the mission.
The mission is extra sensitive to wind due to the size of the balloon, so the team will be trying again possibly tomorrow. Stay tuned to redOrbit for your updates, and to our blog site for a live blogging of the event.
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UPDATE: As posted on the Red Bull Stratos website, “We’re on a weather hold due to winds aloft, possible launch at 11:30am MDT.” Please stay tuned for more details.
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Man has always had the dream of being able to fly, and while some have taken up that dream through jumping out of an airplane, one man is preparing to accomplish that feat today in a fashion that has never been seen before.
Riding a helium-filled balloon 23 miles above the Earth, Felix Baumgartner (also known as Fearless Felix) will take the plunge back down for the world’s highest-ever skydive.
Baumgartner will attempt to break the sound barrier in freefall with this jump from 120,000 feet / 36,576 meters.
The helium balloon Baumgartner will ride in is constructed of strips of high-performance polyethylene film that is only 0.0008 inches thick. If laid flat, these strips would cover 40 acres.
The balloon is 30 million cubic feet in capacity, 10 times larger than Joseph Kittinger‘s balloon used back in the 1960s in his record-breaking dive.
According to Red Bull Stratos officials, weather conditions continue to be favorable for a launch window on Tuesday, October 9, between 06.30hrs and 09.00hrs MDT.
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2012-10-09 20:40:26
Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112709086/felix-baumgartner-jump-100912/
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