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Photo by Luke Aikins - www.redbullstratos.com[/caption]
This Monday, Felix Baumgartner will attempt a supersonic freefall from the edge of space, 23 miles above the earth.
If successful he will break a 50 year record set by Joe Kittinger, a Captain in the US Airforce who, in 1960, completed a jump from a helium balloon at an altitude of 19 miles.
He will also add to an already insane list of previous accolades that includes world records for both the highest and lowest recorded BASE jumps and being the first person to skydive across the English Channel.
Like Felix, nothing about the Red Bull Stratos project is what you’d call mundane. But of particular interest to photographers is the elaborate system of cameras that will record all aspects of the mission for posterity.
The man responsible for the 15 cameras that will ascend to the edge of space in Felix’ capsule and the 3 cameras that will accompany him back to earth in his suit is the mission's director of high-altitude photography, Jay Nemeth of FlightLine Films.
In the following video Jay offers a fascinating insight into the elaborate system of cameras that will beam 3 channels of live broadcast back to the earth. Oh and for some odd reason he’s stuck a Canon 5D in there too ;-)
Mission to the edge of Space – Red Bull Stratos Trailer
The video also describes the challenges of shooting in the hostile environment in space and the rather humble approach that Joe’s team used in 1960. Hot water bottles? Really?
Like so many around the world I wish Felix and his team all the best and await with bated breath the stunning images of this historic jump. Lets hope Jay remembers to load the memory cards, eh?
Sean
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