Photo gallery: Skydiving from the stratosphere
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In this Nov 8, 2011, photo provided by Red Bull Stratos, retired United States Air Force Col. Joe Kittinger, left, and pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria greet each other during the Brooks chamber test for Red Bull Stratos, a mission to the edge of space to break the speed of sound in freefall, in San Antonio. -- PHOTO: AP
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In this March 15, 2012, photo provided by Red Bull Stratos, pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria prepares to jump at the first manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, N.M. -- PHOTO: AP
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In this Nov 16, 1959, file photo, provided by the US Air Force, Capt. Joseph Kittinger Jr. waits in the open balloon gondola, right, while the two million cubic-foot polyethylene balloons are filled with helium for the Excelsior I test jump at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. Austrian adventurer Felix Buamgartner, plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37km above New Mexico on Oct 9, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
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In this Nov 16, 1959, file photo, provided by the United States Air Force, Capt. Joseph Kittinger Jr., aerospace laboratory test director, sits in the open balloon gondola after his first parachute test jump for Project Excelsior at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, N.M. Austrian adventurer Felix Buamgartner, plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37 km above New Mexico on Oct 9, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
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In this Feb 23, 2012 photo provided by Red Bull Stratos, pilot Felix Buamgartner of Austria shows a piece of the balloon material during the Red Bull Stratos egress training in Lancaster, Calif. It’s described as a “40-acre dry cleaner bag,” that, when first filled, will stretch 55 stories high. -- PHOTO: AP
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In this July 25, 2012 photo provided by Red Bull Stratos, a balloon lifts up during the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, N.M. -- PHOTO" AP
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Austrian basejumper Felix Baumgartner poses in a hangar at the Red Bull headquarters in Salzburg in March 2012. He plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37 km above New Mexico. -- PHOTO: AFP
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ATA crew members fill up the balloon with helium at the flight line during the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico on July 25, 2012. He plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37 km above New Mexico. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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This hand out photo shows Austrian athlete Felix Baumgartner descending to the desert after successfully completing the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico, USA on July 25, 2012. He plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37 km above New Mexico. -- PHOTO: AFP
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In this image obtained from redbullcontentpool.com, pilot Felix Baumgartner (centre) of Austria stands on a forklift in front of his capsule during the preparation for the final manned flight of Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico, on Oct 6, 2012. He plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37 km above New Mexico -- PHOTO: AFP
In this Nov 8, 2011, photo provided by Red Bull Stratos, retired United States Air Force Col. Joe Kittinger, left, and pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria greet each other during the Brooks chamber test for Red Bull Stratos, a mission to the edge of space to break the speed of sound in freefall, in San Antonio. -- PHOTO: AP
In this March 15, 2012, photo provided by Red Bull Stratos, pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria prepares to jump at the first manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, N.M. -- PHOTO: AP
In this Nov 16, 1959, file photo, provided by the US Air Force, Capt. Joseph Kittinger Jr. waits in the open balloon gondola, right, while the two million cubic-foot polyethylene balloons are filled with helium for the Excelsior I test jump at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. Austrian adventurer Felix Buamgartner, plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37km above New Mexico on Oct 9, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
In this Nov 16, 1959, file photo, provided by the United States Air Force, Capt. Joseph Kittinger Jr., aerospace laboratory test director, sits in the open balloon gondola after his first parachute test jump for Project Excelsior at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, N.M. Austrian adventurer Felix Buamgartner, plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37 km above New Mexico on Oct 9, 2012. -- PHOTO: AP
In this Feb 23, 2012 photo provided by Red Bull Stratos, pilot Felix Buamgartner of Austria shows a piece of the balloon material during the Red Bull Stratos egress training in Lancaster, Calif. It’s described as a “40-acre dry cleaner bag,” that, when first filled, will stretch 55 stories high. -- PHOTO: AP
In this July 25, 2012 photo provided by Red Bull Stratos, a balloon lifts up during the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, N.M. -- PHOTO" AP
Austrian basejumper Felix Baumgartner poses in a hangar at the Red Bull headquarters in Salzburg in March 2012. He plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37 km above New Mexico. -- PHOTO: AFP
ATA crew members fill up the balloon with helium at the flight line during the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico on July 25, 2012. He plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37 km above New Mexico. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
This hand out photo shows Austrian athlete Felix Baumgartner descending to the desert after successfully completing the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico, USA on July 25, 2012. He plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37 km above New Mexico. -- PHOTO: AFP
In this image obtained from redbullcontentpool.com, pilot Felix Baumgartner (centre) of Austria stands on a forklift in front of his capsule during the preparation for the final manned flight of Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico, on Oct 6, 2012. He plans a record-breaking attempt to jump from the edge of space, 37 km above New Mexico -- PHOTO: AFP
An Austrian adventurer is preparing to skydive from a balloon flying 37km above New Mexico on Tuesday, seeking to break a long-standing altitude record - and the sound barrier - in the process.
Mr Felix Baumgartner, a 43-year-old helicopter pilot, hot-air balloonist and professional skydiver, would become the first person to freefall from that high up in the stratosphere, a region more like the vacuum of space than the oxygen-rich atmosphere closer to Earth.
