Scrapped? Baumgartner Leaving His Balloon On Weather Concerns

I had just put this up, expecting him to begin his ascent, to then jump 23 miles.

But it looks like winds are scrapping the mission.

Background here:

xtreme athlete Felix Baumgartner made final preparations Tuesday for a death-defying, 23-mile free fall into the southeastern New Mexico desert, hoping to become the first skydiver to break the sound barrier.

The planned early morning launch had been delayed by high winds. But shortly before 11 a.m. MDT, the 43-year-old former military parachutist from Austria entered his capsule and crews were expected to begin the hour-long process of filling the 55-story, ultra-thin and easy-to-tear helium balloon that was to take him into the stratosphere for the jump.

So, this post was a misfire. Just as I was putting it up, they began readying him to exit the capsule.

posted by Ace at 01:48 PM

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