David Merlini Can Hold His Breath For Over 21 Minutes

Hungarian David Merlini, 32, is about to face the most death-defying challenge of his life as he attempts to hold his breath, this time in space. A 60'-long missile is set to launch Merlini into space, reaching the stratopause in around two-and-a-half minutes. Besides having to contend with the powerful G-forces, Merlini will only be able to breath freely up to an altitude of 15,000'.

Above this altitude usable oxygen drastically decreases.

This is the first manned missile ever built with no air supply on board for the astronaut, said Dr Tamás Ráth, former Head of the Hungarian Military Research Institute, and now chief of launch operations at MSPI. The radical concept of flying in apnoea, and the reduced air supply is expected to save almost 1/3 of the take-off weight of the aircraft.

To survive Merlini will have to hold his breath until he re-enters the Earth's atmosphere and returns to an altitude of 15,000'. The experiment has been already tested once, with a custom made SCUD-sized missile.

David Merlini started his career over 15 years ago as an escape artist. His resume features some of the most unique stunts ever performed, such as being embedded in a block of concrete then thrown into a river, being frozen with liquid nitrogen, or welded in a cage with tiger sharks. After receiving an award for Best Escape Artist in the World, in Los Angeles, he started to focus uniquely on his ability to hold his breath for the longest time possible, starting from a few minutes, making it up to 21 minutes, 29 seconds in 2009 on the Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix starting grid before the start of the race.

ANN has been advised by veteran animators from Warner Brothers that previous attempts by a coyote to perform this stunt failed when the critter swelled up like a huge balloon in the vacuum of space, requiring him to exhale.

FMI: www.merlini.com