Ascending for the jump

The launch balloon ascends to more than 71,000 feet during the first manned test flight for Red Bull Stratos in Roswell, N.M., on March 15. The eventual supersonic jump, which will occur at an unspecified future date, will be from an incredible 121,000 feet. If he accomplishes that rarefied feat, he will have surpassed the achievement of the legendary Joe Kittinger, an Air Force officer who in 1960 parachuted from unpressurized balloon gondola at an altitude of 102,800 feet and who came just short of reaching supersonic speeds -- his descent topped out at about 614 miles per hour

In 2010, Baumgartner's original planned jump was put on hold due to legal complications, but he's back and ready to try the jaw-dropping jump again.