The light is GREEN, all systems are GO… on October 8, 2012, pilot and extreme BASE jumper Felix Baumgartner will perform a record-breaking freefall from a capsule at the staggering altitude of 120,000 feet — that’s over 22 miles (36.5 kilometers) up! On the way down Baumgartner will go supersonic, setting both height and speed records for a human body in freefall.

Sponsored by the popular energy drink, Felix’s Red Bull Stratos mission will not only break the standing record held by his mentor Joe Kittinger, but also provide valuable scientific data to how the body handles such extreme conditions — invaluable to researchers developing next-generation hardware for human space exploration.

Still, data aside, the jump has its inherent dangers and, of course, its thrills… for Felix as well as the millions of people who will be watching the event from the ground.

“AT 120,000 FT, AIR PRESSURE IS NEARLY NONEXISTENT. FOR FELIX THIS MEANS 99% OF THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE IS OUT OF REACH – UNTIL HE JUMPS.”

– redbullstratos.com

So here’s a question for you: if you had the support and backing of a dedicated and specialized team like Baumgartner’s, would YOU jump from the edge of space? Answer below or leave a comment — you may be featured in a future article!

Remember… it’s a long, cold ride down, but what a view! (And how else are we to learn how to fight off axe-wielding Romulans on space mining platforms in the future??)

Not sure what you’d do? Check out the video below from his March 15 test jump from “only” 71,500 feet:

Find out more about the Red Bull Stratos mission here.