Red Bull Stratos: Mission to the Edge of Space

This week the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC welcomed Red Bull Stratos into its permanent collection.

The Museum will display the temporary exhibition Red Bull Stratos: Mission to the Edge of Space from April 2 to May 26, 2014.

The exhibition includes the pressurized balloon gondola in which Felix Baumgartner ascended to an altitude of 39,045 meters (127,852 feet)–the edge of space–over Roswell, New Mexico on October 14, 2012, and the pressure suit that he wore on a flight to 29,610 meters (97,145 feet) on July 25.

During his record-breaking descent, Baumgartner reached a maximum speed of 1,342 kmh (834 mph). The records achieved include maximum speed of descent without a drogue (small parachute used to provide stability); record exit altitude; and the greatest vertical descent without a drogue.

The balloon gondola and the suit Baumgartner wore during his record-breaking jump will eventually be put on permanent display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

To commemorate the exhibit’s entry to the museum held a seminar featuring multi-world-record holder Felix Baumgartner, previous high-altitude descent record-holder Joseph Kittinger, and technical project director Art Thompson who gave thrilling first-person accounts and answered questions about Baumgartner’s dramatic jump over Roswell, New Mexico.