. sport : Mission to the Edge of Space: The Inside Story of Red Bull Stratos - 17 October 2013 - 09:14
World premiere of new documentary available for free in 31 countries
RED BULL STRATOS. Presented by Rdio, Thrilling Documentary with Never-Before-Seen Footage of Historic Supersonic Mission Will Be Released on One-Year Anniversary and Includes Exclusive Original Song by “Portugal. The Man”.
Nothing in Felix Baumgartner’s career had ever been quite like the challenge of Red Bull Stratos. In this image, he is helped with the 100 pounds of equipment he wore on every flight by the team’s life support engineer, Mike Todd. Photo Credit: Red Bull Stratos
San Francisco, Calif. / Salzburg, Austria – September 17, 2013 – Rdio, the groundbreaking digital music service with more than 20 million songs to discover, play and share, today announced that it will present a remarkable new documentary film from Red Bull Media House called “Mission to the Edge of Space: The Inside Story of Red Bull Stratos.” The film will make its world premiere exclusively on Rdio, available to stream for free at www.rdio.com/redbullstratos for three months beginning on October 14, 2013, which marks the one-year anniversary of Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic freefall from the stratosphere. An original song written and recorded especially for the documentary credits and trailer – “Oh Boy,” by artists “Portugal. The Man” – is also available exclusively to stream on Rdio.
This incredible split-screen still image shows multiple perspectives of Felix Baumgartner’s freefall as he nears the sound barrier, as well as data such as G-force orientation and speed, altitude and heart rate. At this point Baumgartner is just five seconds away from supersonic. Photo Credit: Red Bull Stratos
One year after Red Bull Stratos, the historic moment can be experienced anew through this heart-stopping documentary. New behind-the-scenes stories and footage from launch day and all through the mission’s five years of development reveal undisclosed dramas that threatened to ground the mission. Viewers will get long-awaited details on Baumgartner’s faceplate heating issue, which nearly aborted the mission, and also hear personal interviews and intimate anecdotes from the team as they look back on the experience and the challenges they overcame for the first time on camera. “Mission to the Edge of Space” will be compelling for both those who were captivated in the moment last October and those who may have missed it. To watch the full documentary beginning on October 14, visitors can register with an email address for a free Rdio account at www.rdio.com/redbullstratos.
An exclusive graphic image created exclusively for the “Mission to the Edge of Space” documentary highlights one of the most dramatic aspects of the mission: Felix Baumgartner’s concern about the heating of his helmet’s face plate. If the equipment doesn’t function perfectly, he won’t be able to jump. Photo Credit: Red Bull Stratos
Red Bull Stratos was the flight test program that riveted the world last fall, as Baumgartner become the first human to break the speed of sound with his own body. After ascending 24 miles above earth with a massive helium balloon, he jumped from his capsule. Wearing only a spacesuit, and with a mere 10 minutes of oxygen on his back, he accelerated from 0 to 843.6 miles per hour – Mach 1.25 – in just 50 seconds before eventually parachuting to the ground. Red Bull Stratos broke numerous world records and delivered valuable scientific data to improve safety for future aviators and astronauts. It was also the most-watched live event in Internet history, and the fascination continues.
In this photo from October 2012, Felix Baumgartner and the closest members of his Red Bull Stratos team celebrate his homecoming to Austria at the Hangar-7 museum and exhibition space in Salzburg. Left to right: Joe Kittinger, Art Thompson, Felix Baumgartner, Luke Aikins, Andy Walshe, Jon Clark, Mike Todd. Photo Credit: Jörg Mitter/Red Bull
Just as Red Bull Stratos expanded human limits to the edge of space, Rdio is expanding the reach of music. Users can build a digital music collection that is available everywhere – online, offline and mobile. As part of the exclusive presentation of “Mission to the Edge of Space,” users will be able to access custom playlists created by Felix Baumgartner and a variety of the expert scientists, engineers and medical team members from the Red Bull Stratos project.
Official trailer, the exclusive song “Oh Boy” and more information on the documentary and the live stream are available on www.rdio.com/redbullstratos.
Red Bull Media House
October 17, 2013
About Rdio
Rdio is the groundbreaking digital music service that is reinventing the way people discover, listen to, and share music. With on-demand access to over 20 million songs, Rdio connects people with music and makes it easy to search for and instantly play any song, album, artist, or playlist without ever hearing a single ad. Discover what friends, people with similar tastes, recording artists, and more are listening to in real time and share across Twitter and Facebook. Build a digital music collection that's available everywhere – on the web, in-home or in-car, on tablets or mobile phones, and even offline.
Launched in August 2010, Rdio is headquartered in San Francisco and was founded by Janus Friis, the co-creator of Skype and is currently available in 31 countries. For more information and to sign up, visit www.rdio.com.