[smitjel]

My thoughts exactly...I'm sure he'll be carrying extra weight but I still don't see how this is possible given a certain terminal velocity, like you said.

*Edit...wikipedia says current world record is 614 mph set by Joseph Kittinger. He used the head down method in high altitude, less dense air. That's still not supersonic though.

[zck]

As mentioned in the article, Kittinger "only" jumped from 102,800 feet. Baumgartner will jump from 120,000. Also, Kittinger was in a "rocking chair" position, not head-down. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kittinger)

[hnal943]

Kittinger wasn't as high up, the extra height should give Baumgartner more time to build speed.