Following a five-hour hold due to weather, today’s attempt at the first-ever supersonic space jump has been cancelled. The look on Baumgartner’s face after the mission-abort was announced, pictured above, says it all: this has been a disappointing day.
https://gizmodo.com/felix-baumgartner-is-about-to-attempt-the-most-ambitiou-5950158
According to the Stratos live feed, the balloon used to lift Baumgartner to 120,000 feet above the surface of the Earth is simply too sensitive to endure “gusty winds” any greater than 2 miles per hour.
The jump has been postponed, tentatively, until tomorrow — though it sounds as though weather in the New Mexico desert is expected to be even less amenable to a safe jump in the days ahead. We’ll keep you posted.
