As the sun rises over the New Mexico desert Monday morning, Felix Baumgartner will step into a space capsule suspended beneath an immense helium balloon and slowly ascend to the edge of the stratosphere, where he will step into the void and fall 23 miles to Earth.
To do this safely, or, rather, as safely as possible, he will wear a pressurized suit designed to protect him from sub-zero temperatures, decompression sickness and the very real possibility that the liquid within his body could turn to gas, rendering him unconscious within seconds.
