Red Bull continues its Stratos Project which failed to launch in 2010 with a new attempt to «leap from the edge of space.» This August an Austrian athlete Felix Baumgartner will try to do this trick.

Photo: Felix Baumgartner putting on the spacesuit, from www.redbullstratos.com

Red Bull has signed Baumgartner who will skydive from a stratosphere-placed balloon at 120,000 feet attempting to break four records at the same time. The records have remained unbroken since Col. Joe Kittinger’s freefall from 102,800 feet in 1960. Baumgartner will try to set a new record making the highest manned balloon flight, the highest skydive and the longest freefall, expected to be 5-and-a-half minutes. If successful, the athlete will also become the first person to break the speed of sound during freefall.

Red Bull wanted to set the record in 2010 but the project was put on hold after Daniel Hogan, a California promoter, protested saying the idea of a high-altitude skydive was originally his. Then, the suit has been settled out of court and Red Bull has green lights to accomplish its goal.

The project will be implemented with assistance of the aviation and aerospace science community. The community also helped to make Kittinger’s mission possible developing space suits and providing the near-space safety. Kittinger is now part of the Red Bull team advising the mission.

Rockpool Digital has developed a dedicated Red Bull Stratos website. The agency is also responsible for the social media strategy and interactive experiences providing users with scientific information of the mission.

Baumgartner will attempt to set the records in Roswell, N.M. His journey will be broadcasted live on the web site. The BBC is also working on a 90-minute documentary, along NatGeo, which will premiere after the jump.