Skydiver record attempt: Jumpers on leap into unknown

Felix Baumgartner, the adventurer planning to skydive from an altitude of 120,000 feet (36.7 km) this summer, has spoken about the prospect of reaching the speed of sound while falling.

Mr Baumgartner told the Today programme "the biggest unknown... is what happens to the human body if it flies supersonic speeds", saying there is no way to simulate the experience before his jump.

One of his team advisers is US Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger, who currently holds the record for the highest freefall for his 102,800 foot (31 km) leap in 1960.

He explained how he continued with his jump despite "a small malfunction on my pressure suit glove. My hand was not pressurised, it got to be rather large and I couldn't use it."