Originally posted by NocturnalPS
Hey man have yall read about this crazy Australian person::::
"SYDNEY, Australia -- An Australian man is preparing to leap from a balloon floating in near-space -- 25 miles above the ground -- in an attempt to become the world's highest skydiver, London's Sunday Times reported.
Rodd Millner, 37, hopes to freefall for six minutes before opening his parachute and touching down in central Australia.
He appears undaunted by warnings from scientists that the descent through near-space could be so fast that his head might explode, according to the newspaper.
Millner plans to make the jump early next year wearing a pressurised spacesuit, and will have a camera attached to his body so that millions of viewers can watch live on television.
Millner plans to ascend in a gondola beneath a specially built balloon that will inflate as it rises until it becomes as wide as two jumbo jets. At 130,000 feet - about 25 miles up - he will jump out.
For perspective on 130,000 feet, consider that Mt. Everest is about 30,000 feet, and most passenger jetliners fly at 35,000 feet.
The main danger of such a feat is the lack of oxygen. Millner could lose consciousness, in which case a special parachute is equipped with a remote control that should ensure that it opens at a prescribed altitude.
For his part, Millner insists that the dive is not a stunt, but a scientific experiment. "It's extreme science," he told the Sunday Times. "