Balloon launch hints at jump attempt

ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) - It appears a once-suspended attempt at a world-record parachute jump over New Mexico from the edge of outer space may be back on track.

The energy-drink company Red Bull, sponsors of the "Red Bull Stratos" project, confirms it has a balloon launch crew at work in Roswell.

The crew attempted to launch a stratospheric balloon from the Roswell Industrial Air Center Thursday morning, but the tall clear plastic balloon collapsed after inflation.

Airport staff would only say that the launch was "scratched," possibly due to winds, and referred all other questions to Red Bull.

Red Bull spokesperson Maddy Zeringue would not say whether the team was specifically working on the Stratos project.

Zeringue would only say that the balloon launch was "to test technical equipment."

"That is all I the information I can provide at this point," she added.

The Red Bull balloon that was aborted is similar to the type flown at NASA's nearby Fort Sumner launch facility. Tall and thin at launch, the shimmering plastic envelopes expand to hundreds of feet wide in the upper atmosphere.

They are capable of carrying payloads of thousands of pounds in excess of 20 miles above the earth.

NASA often uses them to conduct experiments in the atmosphere, measure cosmic rays or carry telescopes.

Although Red Bull will not confirm the nature of its testing at Roswell, Federal Aviation Administration notices indicate this week's flight was bound for the far upper atmosphere.

That is where someday Red Bull hopes to drop its skydiver, Felix Baumgartner, from a stratospheric balloon.

If successful, he would set several new world records and collect data on new pressure-suit designs.

The records would include highest free-fall altitude, fastest free-fall (about Mach 1, about 690 miles per hour), highest manned balloon flight (120,000 feet) and longest free-fall (more than 5 1/2 minutes).

In an appearance last year on CBS-TV, Baumgartner said he feels the risks of the extreme jump are worth it.

"That place where I am going to is a very hostile place," he told CBS News. "And if you are not confident 100 percent in yourself and you don't trust your team, then you have no business up there."

The altitude record Baumgartner hopes to break was set by former Air Force Col. Joe Kittinger, who is now a consultant on the Red Bull Stratos team.

In 1960 Kittinger jumped above New Mexico from a balloon almost 20 miles up over Alamogordo.

He reached a speed of 614 mph in free-fall and collected data for putting humans in space and for escape systems.

"We helped NASA design the Mercury capsule," he said. "And we helped work on the escape systems. And they are still using what we used 50 years ago."

The Red Bull Stratos project was suspended for several months after a legal challenge by a promoter who claimed Red Bull had stolen his idea.

That legal case was settled out of court earlier this year.

There is no official word yet from Red Bull on where or when the actual record jump attempt will now take place.

Meanwhile, equipment testing is continuing at Roswell.