July 30, 2002

Wired: “Here at the very edge of space, at an altitude four times the height of Mount Everest, he will leap from his craft to begin a six-minute descent that will see him reaching supersonic speeds between 1,200 and 1,600 kilometers per hour (between 745 and 1,000 mph).” When they say leap, they mean it — just him and a parachute at 150,000 feet. Oh, and a special suit so that he doesn’t explode.