Race to Space (Dive)

While the media continues to push forward with the ongoing "Race to the Bottom" (of the ocean), there is another race picking up significant steam: the race to break the 50+-year-old record for sky diving ... almost high enough to be considered "space" diving.

Joe Kittinger's Record Jump
On August 16, 1960, Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger climbed aboard a gondola attached to a helium balloon and jumped out at an altitude of 102,800 feet (31,300 meters). Falling at close to super-sonic speeds through the icy cold upper reaches of the atmosphere, he parachuted safely to the ground. It was a military experiment to test human endurance in the possibility of pilot and/or astronaut high-altitude ejections. In the process, Kittinger set a world record that has stood for over 50 years.

Felix Baumgartner Test Jump
For the past few years, several men have attempted to break Kittinger's mark. An intense rivalry has developed between Frenchman Michel Fournier and Austrian Felix Baumgartner. However, with the backing of Red Bull, Baumgartner's Red Bull Stratos project seems to have the upper hand. In fact, he will likely make the world-record attempt by mid-2012, probably right on the heels of James Cameron making his world-record solo submarine dive.