Space Dive Page #6

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that it's capable of doing the job.

It's already been tested

and stamped and approved.

Now it's Felix's turn

to get stamped and approved.

Everybody's out there. Everybody's

fired up, so it's kind of cool.

This is a complete rehearsal of

the capsule's ascent to 125,000ft.

It's a final test of the technology,

and of Felix.

We've got cold temperature,

we have low pressures,

we have a pressure suit involved.

It's as close as we can get

to the actual flight

without taking off the ground.

To simulate the exact conditions

of the real jump,

Felix is locked

inside the suit for four hours.

Can you read me, Felix?

Attaboy. How's your cabin doing?

The team watch his every move.

The last time I was putting

that helmet on,

just the smell of the rubber

made me feel so bad.

This time, everything

is totally different.

It's still the same smell, but it's

related to something else.

It's not my enemy anymore.

You're doing great, Felix.

The instrumentation looks great,

you're doing good. Keep it up!

I think that the biggest link

that I created is that

where you're going to go -

normally you should not be there.

But as soon as you wear that suit,

that allows you to be there.

That's the only way to survive

in that hostile environment.

And just by thinking about that

changes the whole picture.

Whatever was there, he's resolved,

I think we're all not only impressed

but amazed that he turned it around.

180 degree change.

He's dedicated and motivated

and he'll do a good job.

Felix has proved he has

what it takes to get safely

to the edge of space.

Now all he needs to do...

is jump.

Preparations for launch

are underway.

And the world's media

arrives in New Mexico.

It has taken 18 million

and years of hard work,

but the team are ready for take-off.

I've been working four years

on this project,

I've been waiting 52 years

for someone to beat my record.

It's been a long journey.

We're delighted that we're

finally at the final step.

Felix himself has come a long way,

he had no pressure suit experience

at all at the beginning of this.

And now he is very confident

in a pressure suit.

So I'm very proud of him.

The team prepares

for a launch after sunrise.

They send up weather balloons

to check the wind speed.

My biggest fear of

the entire thing

is getting the balloon

off the ground.

It's going to be 750ft tall,

so that's about three-quarters

the size of the Eiffel Tower.

Conditions to launch this type

of balloon have to be perfect.

Joe will be directing Felix

from Mission Control.

He will talk him through

each stage of the mission.

I'm sitting there,

empathising with him.

And when he jumps,

I'm jumping with him.

I've done it myself

and I know exactly

what he's going through.

Wind speeds are perfect.

The race is on to inflate the

balloon before the weather changes.

Joe, this is Felix in the capsule,

do you read me?

I read you very loud,

how do you read me?

But there's a problem

with the radio.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5. ..in the capsule,

do you read me?

Felix, I can read you five-square,

but you're obviously not reading me.

It takes more than

half an hour to fix.

We need to switch over to radio two.

We need him to hurry up or

we're going to run out of time.

The weather window is closing fast.

Get out the door, let's go!

OK, helium good, let's start.

We got to press on.

We're way behind schedule!

The wind is beginning to rise.

I gotta tell you,

the wind is blowing this balloon

all over creation!

Felix, the wind's came up.

We'll have to abort.

No way.

Sorry to tell you.

This is going to be

a painful mission debrief.

The team's mistakes have cost

them one of their two balloons.

And the confidence of their pilot.

We've got to figure out

what the issues were

as far as the radio comm,

cos with the switch...

My radio comm?

It wasn't intentional.

It just happened? Yeah.

In such an operation as this,

things just happen?!

We're looking at what we need to be

better organised...

Now we're down to one balloon.

We have to have

the right conditions.

So what's the plan?

Right now, Don's looking at weather.

Next step is figure out the day.

The team will have to wait

four days for another chance.

'You have to start up

your system again

'and think through the process,

and then it's not going to happen,'

then you have to do it all over

again. It's just exhausting,

so, I don't know how much more

I can do this, you know.

So, I really hope this is going

to happen tonight.

Hello, Eva.

How are you? Alles gut! Alles gut.

Felix, do you read me?

Read you loud and clear, sir.

We've got to get closer to going.

You were born ready, Felix.

This time, the team is on schedule.

But with only one balloon,

there is no room for error.

We're all with you, buddy.

Standing by, Joe, ready to go.

Stand by and get

ready for your trip to space.

We are go for launch!

Oh, beautiful! Beautiful, wow!

Look at it go!

CHEERING:

Release!

Felix, you're on the way to space.

Rock'n'roll!

Thank you so much, guys.

And you're going up just great.

Felix, you're going up at 1,200ft

per minute. Right on track.

Everything's looking good,

you're doing great on the cabin.

And everything is green.

We know you will, Felix,

we've got confidence in you.

That's a good view of the airfield

down there.

You've passed about 30,000,

you're doing 100mph.

And you're moving across New Mexico.

100 miles an hour. Really?

Actually, 112 right now,

you're flat moving out.

Just before Felix passes into

the deadly atmosphere

above the Armstrong line,

he makes an alarming discovery.

Phil, check your monitor.

Phil, check your monitor.

"Phil, check your monitor"

is Joe's emergency code.

We have a problem,

we have a problem.

The television signal

from the control room

is cut to allow Felix

to talk openly.

Face plate heat is all the way up...

The millions watching at home

see nothing of what follows.

If Felix has no face-plate heat,

his visor will keep fogging up.

If he can't see the horizon, or his

instruments, he can't jump safely.

We have a choice -

to continue up a little bit

and see if it gets better

as you get lots of cold,

or abort.

What do you think we should do?

I think we're seeing

face-plate heating...

I don't see it fogging up.

Here's the problem - he thinks

he doesn't have face plate.

It's his own perception,

and if he doesn't trust

that he doesn't have face plate,

he's not a safe person

and he probably wants to abort.

Mike, I want you to have

our helicopter be in position -

we might have to cut him down.

We have an emergency here,

and they should be ready to act.

As Felix rises above 80,000 feet,

the team need to reassure him that

the visor will work when he jumps.

If he didn't have

face-plate heating,

he'd be fogged up completely.

OK, Felix,

here's what we think we should do.

He has to unplug his visor

from the capsule power

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