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Red Bull Stratos: Mission launch aborted due to gusty winds

By InCinemas / 10 Oct 2012 (Wednesday)

*Update (11 Oct) - New launch window! 14 October 2012, Sunday at 8:30pm (SG time).
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Felix Baumgartner's attempt to jump out a space capsule from the edge of space had to be aborted at the last minute (11.42hrs MDT local time) due to wind gusts that made it impossible to safely inflate the 30 million cubic feet / 834,497 cubic meters balloon for the launch. Baumgartner and the Red Bull Stratos team had waited for five hours in vain for the winds to calm down.

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The Austrian athlete is attempting to undertake a stratospheric balloon flight to an altitude of 120,000 feet / 36,576 meters and attempt to become the first person to break the speed of sound in freefall. The findings from the mission will also help to improve our scientific understanding of the stratosphere and how the body copes with the extreme conditions at the edge of space.

“When Art told me we were aborting the mission, I thought it was a joke. I thought, ‘There is no way; the conditions were right.’ I couldn't tell what was happening with the balloon because I was in the capsule. I was in total disbelief.” said the Red Bull Stratos Pilot.

Baumgartner has been training for five years for the mission that will also help to improve our scientific understanding of the stratosphere and how the body copes with the extreme conditions at the edge of space. The 43-year-old extreme athlete said he was surprised by the decision to abort the flight on Tuesday but optimistic he will still get his chance to break the 52-year-old record set by U.S. Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger, who is working as an adviser for the project and has become Baumgartner's protege in the process.

The intention is still to launch the capsule attached to a helium balloon to the target height. At this stage the mission team is closely monitoring possible new launch days before the green light is given for another countdown. Progress will be communicated as it happens.

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Red Bull Stratos: Mission launch aborted due to gusty winds