RED BULL STRATOS. Felix Baumgartner is rested and ready to go for another attempt to break both the sound barrier in freefall and a 52-year-old record for highest-altitude jump after Tuesday's aborted attempt was followed around the world. Baumgartner gets a new chance to jump from 36,576 meters on Sunday, where weather still appears to be promising.

Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria steps out from the capsule during the second manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, New Mexico, USA on July 25, 2012. Red Bull Stratos is a mission to the edge of space to an altitude of 37.000 meters to break several records including the sound of speed in freefall. Photo Credit: Jay Nemeth/Red Bull

ROSWELL, New Mexico - After Tuesday's nerve-wracking postponement of his journey to the edge of space, the Austrian skydiving expert Felix Baumgartner has taken the last-minute scrapping of that attempt in stride and is calmly looking forward to his next chance this Sunday. The preliminary weather outlook is promising for another try at a leap for the ages, this time on a date that is already rich in aviation history. On October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier flying in an experimental rocket-powered airplane. Baumgartner is trying to fly through the sound barrier without the aid of an aircraft and provide another milestone in aerospace exploration, to make future space travel safer.

Capt. Charles E. Yeager (shown standing next to the Air Force's Bell-built X-1 supersonic research aircraft) became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound in level flight on October 14, 1947. Photo Credit: United States Air Force Archive

Baumgartner, who said he relishes the chance to break four world records exactly 65 years to the day after Yeager first broke the sound barrier in an airplane, is ready to go: "I'm here with my family and friends who are all super supportive. I go to the gym and try to keep myself fit. I've done all of my homework. Had all of my briefings with the team I trust. All we are waiting for now is the weather."

Baumgartner needs near wind-less conditions at ground level and clear skies to get his balloon inflated and then aloft. He will ride in a space capsule attached to a 850,000 cubic meter helium balloon to a record-breaking altitude of 36,576 meters (120,000 feet). There the 43-year-old adventurer will jump out into the lifeless stratosphere and attempt to break the sound barrier at speeds near 1,110 km/h during his plunge back to earth.

After training for five years for the leap that is designed to improve our scientific understanding of how the body copes with the extreme conditions at the edge of space, Baumgartner was just minutes away from launch on Tuesday when a sudden gust of wind knocked the top of the balloon at 230 meters high down to the ground and forced the mission to be scrapped. Baumgartner was disappointed but not disheartened: "I want to break the speed of sound, no matter what it takes," he said. "As long as we have a spare balloon and more launch days, I'm good." Red Bull Stratos has a back-up balloon and Baumgartner will get another chance as soon as the weather conditions are ideal - clear skies and winds of less than 3 km/h at the ground and not much stronger at the top of the balloon. Such conditions occur only one to two days a week at this time of the year. This Sunday and Monday look favorable and Baumgartner and his team are determined to take every chance offered to them.
Baumgartner's mission to the edge of space has raised global awareness and interest in the effort to advance the world's understanding of human survival in the hostile environment of the stratosphere. More and more companies, such as private space enterprises, are now lining up to get access to the data and knowledge Red Bull Stratos is accumulating. "I think it's important that people keep talking about it," Baumgartner said. "Now that they've seen how hard it is to launch I think they'll appreciate what they see even more. If it were easy, it would not have taken 52 years to get close to achieving what Joe Kittinger 1960. "

Baumgartner has learned a thing or two about the need to be patient from Joe Kittinger, who 52 years ago as an U.S. Air Force Captain set the record for highest altitude jump that the Austrian is now trying to break. Kittinger, who is now an advisor to the project and Baumgartner's mentor, also had to endure a long wait for the ideal conditions before his jump.

Red Bull Stratos
13.Oct 2012

INTERVIEW with Felix Baumgartner as all eyes on a Sunday launch

With the second launch attempt set to take place this weekend, if the weather window continues to hold, Felix Baumgartner was asked how he was coping with the delay and if he was confident of a Sunday launch.

With all this waiting, how do you keep yourself so positive?
I am here with my family and friends who are all super supportive. I go to the gym and try to keep myself fit. I've done all of my homework and had all of my briefings with the team I trust. All we are waiting for now is the weather.

What is it about your preparation that makes you so sure you can accomplish the mission?
For the technical part, I have the best team behind me. For me, I have been preparing ever since I started base jumping. I have been working towards this goal since I was a little kid when I started looking up to people like Joe Kittinger. And with him on my team, I know I am surrounded by the best in the field.

When you have successfully completed the Mission, what will be the most important takeaway for you and for the science community?
Of course, I will be proud to be the first person to break the speed of sound in freefall. But really I know that part of this entire experience will help make the next pressure suit safer for space tourists and aviators. I know for my family and friends, they'll be most happy that I'm back on the ground safe.

Another aspect is all of the messages I get each day. Every day I get messages from people around the world. One of them, a 13-year-old boy who is fighting cancer, told me, 'the way you have carried on with this project, makes me want to fight my own battle.' All of these messages are big motivators for me.

How high do you rate the chances that you will lift off this Sunday?
It's difficult to say, but we rely on the predictions of Don Day. And every launch in the past has shown me that Don is always on target.

What does it mean to you - seeing the attention that your first launch attempt created around the world?
I think it's important that people keep talking about it. Now that they've seen how hard it is to launch, I think they'll appreciate what they see even more.

If you achieve your goal on Sunday, instead of another day, how do you feel about doing it on the same day that Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound with a vehicle?
In 65 years, it goes to show there are still challenges to overcome and you should never lose sight of trying to achieve them. I would be proud to be a part of that group of explorers.

Red Bull Stratos
13.Oct 2012