It's being dubbed ‘Mission to the Edge of Space', and this isn't just a throwaway title. The man who has wingsuit-flown the English Channel and dodged security to BASE jump Kuala Lumpur's massive Petronas towers now has an airless, black, silent world, 36km above the one we all know, in his sights.

And this isn't something that's come about in just a few weeks. The project has gone through various stages since it was first suggested to Baumgartner some six years ago, and with different people.

As well as the support of Red Bull, the one that has come to fruition counts the designer of the Stealth bomber, an expert producer of spacesuits and none other than Kittinger himself as parties involved.

However, when the time comes to exit his helium balloon (which is only the thickness of a plastic bag despite being 145m/475ft tall), Baumgartner will be quite alone. From the height of 36km (22 miles) up in the planet's stratosphere, he will jump from a gondola below the balloon, then fall at the fastest unpowered speed ever achieved by a human being.

With the benefit of gravity without wind resistance, the Austrian will fall at some 1,300kph (800mph) and break the sound barrier. (Sound travels just a little slower at 1,236kph/768mph.)

It won't be easy. Once he gets up there, kept alive only by his oxygen supply and pressurised spacesuit, there will be no changes of mind or second chances. So, why does he want to do it?

"When I jump, I'll be going on a journey that no one has ever done," Baumgartner explains. "I will be the first person to break the sound barrier alone.

"That will be a record for all eternity. As such, a piece of me will become immortal."

You can keep up with Felix Baumgartner's bid for immortality at www.redbullstratos.com