Felix Baumgartner attempts to make history

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrIxH6DToXQ]

The skydiver is mere minutes away from skydiving from a world-record 23 miles up:

Skydiver Felix Baumgartner is making his ascent to the edge of space, where he plans to jump into the biggest free fall of all time.

In a capsule hanging from a helium balloon, Baumgartner is working his way to 120,000 feet (about 23 miles) — more than three times the cruising altitude of the average airliner.

With nothing but a space suit, helmet and parachute, Baumgartner hopes to be the first person to break the sound barrier without the protection of a vehicle.

The thin air at that height provides so little resistance that after just 40 seconds, he is expected to be free falling faster than 690 miles per hour.

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About Jay Pinho

Jay is a data journalist and political junkie. He currently writes about domestic politics, foreign affairs, and journalism and continues to make painstakingly slow progress in amateur photography. He would very much like you to check out SCOTUSMap.com and SCOTUSSearch.com if you have the chance.

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