diving into the deep end of a pool. It will be like he is diving into the shallow end. Skydiver preps for the big jump When he jumps, he is expected to reach the speed of sound -- 690 mph (1,110 kph) -- in less than 40 seconds. Like hitting the top of the water, he will begin to slow as he approaches the more dense air closer to Earth. But this will not be enough to stop him completely. If he goes too fast or spins out of control, he has a stabilization parachute that can be deployed to slow him down. His team hopes it's not needed. Instead, he plans to deploy his 270-square-foot (25-square-meter) main chute at an altitude of around 5,000 feet (1,524 meters). In order to deploy this chute successfully, he will have to slow to 172 mph (277 kph). He will have a reserve parachute that will open automatically if he loses consciousness at mach speeds. Even if everything goes as planned, it won't. Baumgartner still will free fall at a speed that would cause you and me to pass out, and no parachute is guaranteed to work higher than 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). cause there