Michel Fournier , 65, a former Colonel in the French Army, has announced he will attempt to break the high altitude skydive record of 40 km in the amazing free-fall Super Jump in August this year. Fournier will wear a special suit with Thermolite Performance Insulation from Advansa.

The Super Jump was initially developed as part of the European Hermes space shuttle program, to test atmosphere re-entry and freefall rescue methods for shuttle astronauts to escape without a spacecraft in emergency cases. Michel Fournier was selected among other candidates for this mission, which in the end was cancelled, and the 65-year-old, then pursued the work on his own. Michel’s journey to a height of 40,000 metres will start in a pressurized gondola hanging from a special balloon, where he will see the curvature of the earth and then jump out of the stratosphere in an amazing free fall jump.

Within the first forty seconds and at a speed of more than 1100 km/hour he will exceed the speed of sound. After a free fall of six minutes Michel will then open his parachute at a height of 5000 m.

Fournier will achieve four world records, which are the altitude record for free-fall, the altitude record for a human balloon flight, the time record for the longest free-fall and the speed record for the fastest free-fall.

Michel Fournier’s last attempt at the record in 2008 failed at North Battleford, (Saskatchewan plains in Canada). Although conditions were perfect for the jump with everything running smoothly and according to program, suddenly one of the security releases that joins the capsule to the balloon, malfunctioned and released the massive 160m high Helium balloon, which floated away separated from the capsule. Fournier had entered the balloon before and had been pre-breathing pure oxygen for hours to clean his bloodstream and body tissues of dissolved nitrogen that could cause problems in the low pressure of extreme altitudes.

The malfunction was caused by a radio receptor attached to the release device being accidentally banged and sending a false signal to the security release system. This mechanism is needed to cut the capsule from the balloon that will  come back to earth after Michel has jumped out of the stratosphere.

This incident did not discourage Fournier, who has announced that he would attempt another jump this summer. Michel said that he “will not give up to launch this project” which he started 20 years ago with private financing. For the next attempt this summer he will have a backup balloon.

During the descent, Michel will be wearing a special insulation suit that contains two layers of Thermolite Micro Performance Insulation each weighing 150 g/m². The Thermolite Micro Insulation inside the space suit will enable Michel to survive temperatures below –100°C (-150° Fahrenheit) for 10 minutes, being the only insulation allowing him to resist the extreme conditions of the re-entry freefall.

According to ISO 11092 the thermal resistance of each layer of Thermolite Micro Insulation is RCT m². K/W = 0,460. Thermolite Micro is characterized by a patented blend of thin micro fibres that trap efficiently heat losses by radiation and convection. Advansa says the benefits are superior warmth without excess bulk or weight, exceptional softness and comfort, along with outstanding compatibility and durability properties. Thermolite Micro Insulation acts as a protective cocoon slim fitted against Michel’s body thanks to the form of fibres.French company Peg has manufactured the Thermolite Micro Insulation, while performance garment maker All Mer has made the garment.

Fournier will be wearing special underwear manufactured both with Coolmax and Thermolite fabrics specifically developed for him by Fuchshuber Techno-tex GmbH, from Lichtenstein. The fabrics have been tested by the Hohenstein research institute delivering a yield of RCT 111,8 *10-3 m2K/H. (whereas the average of tested Fleece-Articles is RCT 87 *10-3 m2K/W.) Mr. Joerg Vois, director of Fuchshuber Techno-Tex commented: “The result of the RCT value is the maximum which is available for a high tech fabric of these characteristics, offering both excellent moisture management and outstanding insulation.”