Last Updated 12:40 p.m. ET
ROSWELL, N.M.
Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner started his daring ascent to 23 miles above Earth on Sunday, hoping to make a death-defying free fall that could make him the first skydiver to break the sound barrier.
Baumgartner took off in a pressurized capsule carried by a 55-story ultra-thin helium balloon that is expected to take nearly three hours to climb into the stratosphere. If plans go as expected, Baumgartner will then jump into a near vacuum with no oxygen to begin what is expected to be the fastest, farthest free fall from the highest-ever manned balloon.
Any contact with the capsule on his exit could tear the pressurized suit, a rip that could expose him to a lack of oxygen and temperatures as low as minus 70 degrees. That could cause potentially lethal bubbles to form in his bodily fluids
At Baumgartner's insistence, some 30 cameras recorded the event. While it had been pegged as a live broadcast, it was actually under a 20-second delay.
Shortly after launch, screens at mission control showed the capsule as it rose above 10,000 feet, high above the New Mexico desert as cheers erupted from organizers. Baumgartner also could be seen on video checking instruments inside the capsule.
You may watch live coverage of Baumgartner's freefall attempt by clicking on the video player below.
Baumgartner's team included Joe Kittinger, the man who first attempted to break the sound barrier from 19.5 miles in 1960. With Kittinger inside mission control Sunday, the two men could be heard going over technical details as the launch began.
"You are right on the button, keep it right there," Kittinger told Baumgartner.
Earlier in the day, mission control officials declared a "weather hold," delaying the launch. But about an hour later, organizers described conditions at the launch site as perfect, and said the balloon would be inflated and begin its ascent at roughly 9:45 a.m.
A view from Felix Baumgartner's capsule as it rises into the stratosphere, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012.
/ CBS News
The jump from the site near Roswell, N.M., was postponed twice last week because of high winds.
If he succeeds in the death-defying feat, the man nicknamed "Fearless Felix" will break a 52-year-old altitude record by Joe Kittinger, who jumped from 19.5 miles and reached a speed of 614 mph, just under the sound barrier.
This attempt will be the end of a five-year road for Baumgartner, a record-setting high-altitude jumper. He already made two preparation jumps in the area, one in March from 15 miles high and on in July from 18 miles high. It will also be the end of his extreme altitude jumping career; he has promised this will be his final jump.
Coincidentally, Sunday also marks the 65th anniversary of U.S. test pilot Chuck Yeager successful attempt to become the first man to officially break the sound barrier aboard an airplane.
Baumgartner plans to travel faster than the speed of sound with only the benefit of a high-tech suit.
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ROSWELL, N.M.
Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner started his daring ascent to 23 miles above Earth on Sunday, hoping to make a death-defying free fall that could make him the first skydiver to break the sound barrier.
Baumgartner took off in a pressurized capsule carried by a 55-story ultra-thin helium balloon that is expected to take nearly three hours to climb into the stratosphere. If plans go as expected, Baumgartner will then jump into a near vacuum with no oxygen to begin what is expected to be the fastest, farthest free fall from the highest-ever manned balloon.
Any contact with the capsule on his exit could tear the pressurized suit, a rip that could expose him to a lack of oxygen and temperatures as low as minus 70 degrees. That could cause potentially lethal bubbles to form in his bodily fluids
At Baumgartner's insistence, some 30 cameras recorded the event. While it had been pegged as a live broadcast, it was actually under a 20-second delay.
Shortly after launch, screens at mission control showed the capsule as it rose above 10,000 feet, high above the New Mexico desert as cheers erupted from organizers. Baumgartner also could be seen on video checking instruments inside the capsule.
You may watch live coverage of Baumgartner's freefall attempt by clicking on the video player below.
Baumgartner's team included Joe Kittinger, the man who first attempted to break the sound barrier from 19.5 miles in 1960. With Kittinger inside mission control Sunday, the two men could be heard going over technical details as the launch began.
"You are right on the button, keep it right there," Kittinger told Baumgartner.
Earlier in the day, mission control officials declared a "weather hold," delaying the launch. But about an hour later, organizers described conditions at the launch site as perfect, and said the balloon would be inflated and begin its ascent at roughly 9:45 a.m.
/ CBS News
The jump from the site near Roswell, N.M., was postponed twice last week because of high winds.
If he succeeds in the death-defying feat, the man nicknamed "Fearless Felix" will break a 52-year-old altitude record by Joe Kittinger, who jumped from 19.5 miles and reached a speed of 614 mph, just under the sound barrier.
This attempt will be the end of a five-year road for Baumgartner, a record-setting high-altitude jumper. He already made two preparation jumps in the area, one in March from 15 miles high and on in July from 18 miles high. It will also be the end of his extreme altitude jumping career; he has promised this will be his final jump.
Coincidentally, Sunday also marks the 65th anniversary of U.S. test pilot Chuck Yeager successful attempt to become the first man to officially break the sound barrier aboard an airplane.
Baumgartner plans to travel faster than the speed of sound with only the benefit of a high-tech suit.
1/2