Jumping
to Earth from the edge of space is no mean feat. Not only are you
dropping like a stone, there's also the minor issue of your blood
boiling as you do so. These are challenges daredevil Felix Baumgartner
and the Red Bull
Stratos team will be taking head-on -- literally -- with their
record-breaking 120,000 foot "spacedive." To ensure Baumgartner lives to
claim his honors, the Stratos team is using a custom spacesuit. It's
designed by the David Clark Company, which made the first pressurized
suits for World War II fighters, and includes a gas-filled bladder and
integrated valve to maintain pressure over the various altitudes. While
Baumgartner hopes to set new freefall distance, and time (5 minutes 30
seconds) records, there'll also be a lasting contribution to science,
with team medical director Dr. Jonathan Clark hoping the developments
can lead to advances in space travel and tourism. So in the future when you're opening your pretzels, looking down upon the Earth, raise a complimentary glass to Felix
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