Daredevil plans to leap from edge of space at 120,000 ft

Washington, Mar 17 (ANI): A daredevil adventurer plans to jump from 120,000 feet after his test jump of 71,581 feet proved to be a success.

Felix Baumgartner intends to plunge 23 miles from the edge of space back to Earth in a Red Bull-sponsored stunt that would be the world's highest freefall.

His team announced the completion of a key test flight over Roswell, New Mexico on Thursday.

"The height of Felix's test flight was significant, as it was the first time he passed the Armstrong Line of approximately 63,000 feet, where the atmospheric pressure truly tests Felix's custom-made space suit," Fox News quoted his team as saying in a news release.

It may not have reached the level of a space plunge, but Baumgartner is said to have reached about 365 mph and fell for three minutes and 43 seconds before he opened his parachute at 7,890 feet.

Perviously, his highest freefall was from a paltry 30,000 feet.

Baumgartner said last month that the launch window for the 120,000 jump starts July in New Mexico.

With air temperatures of -70 F degrees, his very blood would boil if exposed to the air, he was asked as to what could compel a man to make such a dangerous attempt.

"I like the challenge... I have a passion for aviation, and I love working on things that start from scratch," he said.

To do it at all required a custom supersonic spacesuit, designed by the David Clark Company, which made the first such pressurized suits to protect World War II fighters during high-speed manoeuvres.

In the process of his leap, Baumgartner hopes to become the first parachutist to break the sound barrier, plummeting toward the ground at 760 miles per hour. (ANI)