High Winds Forced The Postponement, No New Date As Yet Scheduled

High winds in the New Mexico desert have once again forced the postponement of Felix Baumgartner's attempt to break records both for skydiving altitude and freefall speed. The launch of the Red Bull Stratos capsule from the desert outside Roswell, NM, was stopped at 1142 local time Tuesday, just before Felix Baumgartner's giant 30 million cubic foot balloon had been fully inflated and made ready for take off.

The team had planned an early-morning launch, but pushed attempt back due to strong winds at 700 feet - the balloon's top - and waited for the right weather window to open. The launch was scheduled for 1140, the balloon inflation had begun, and then gusty winds picked up and made a launch impossible.

Felix Baumgartner is trying to undertake a stratospheric balloon flight to more than 120,000 feet and attempt a history-making freefall jump in which he would become the first man to break the speed of sound in freefall. Baumgartner says he hopes to help improve our scientific understanding of the stratosphere and how the body copes with the extreme conditions so high above the Earth's surface.

The team still intends to launch the capsule to the targeted altitude carried by a stratospheric balloon. The plan calls for Baumgartner to make a freefall back to the earth at supersonic speed before parachuting to the ground.

At this stage the mission team says it  is closely monitoring possible new launch days before a green light is given for another countdown.

(Image courtesy Digital News Agency)

FMI: www.redbullstratos.com