This thing. Is the coolest thing. Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner is going to overcome his dorky name by leaping from a balloon at a height of 36km, and 35 seconds later become the first person to break the sound barrier during free fall. Then he’ll probably deploy his parachute and land safely in New Mexico.

The free-fall is going to last about ten minutes – and since he’ll be traveling at more than 1100 kilomtres per hour, dealing with temperatures as low as -70C, Baumgartner (ha) will be wearing a dope chest pack and pressure suit, covered in stickers from Red Bull, who wanted to get in on the action.

Baumgartner has done a fair amount of rad stuff as it is – being the first person to “skydive across” the English Channel back in 2003, and base-jumping off of the right arm of the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio – but he has expressed a little concern about falling from the edge of space.

I always feel the danger because you might always be subject to an unexpected or emergency event. One single mistake might cause a real catastrophe. You are worried about being where humans shouldn’t be. The longest time I’ve spent inside the suit with the front part of the helmet closed, is three hours, and to be honest, it was horrible. To jump and break the sound barrier will not be a mere record breaking experience or another extreme event that ends once the mission is accomplished. This is an experience that will simulate the first human landing on the moon, and will benefit scientific research.

The attempt will be made over New Mexico this August.

[Source: Felix Baumgartner]