Multi-million Dollar Lawsuit Stops Commercial "Spaceflight" Jump

The record-breaking attempt by Felix Baumgartner to become the first human to break the speed of sound in free-fall has been halted by a lawsuit, Universe Today reported yesterday. According to the article, promoter Daniel Hogan has filed suit against the Red Bull Stratos Initiative team claiming he originally pitched the idea in 2004 and that, after a year of conversations where important details were discussed, Red Bull told him they were not interested. Hogan was then surprised when Red Bull announced the project last January without acknowledging his idea or seeking permission to use the confidential information he provided.

As quoted in the article, Red Bull issued the following statement:

“Despite the fact that many other people over the past 50 years have tried to break Colonel (Ret.) Joe Kittinger’s record, and that other individuals have sought to work with Red Bull in an attempt to break his record, Mr. Hogan claims to own certain rights to the project and filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit earlier this year in a Californian court. Red Bull has acted appropriately in its prior dealings with Mr. Hogan, and will demonstrate this as the case progresses . Due to the lawsuit, we have decided to stop the project until this case has been resolved.”

Hogan had allegedly already assembled a team to carry out the stunt, which would have been made from 130,000 feet. Under the Red Bull Stratos Initiative, Baumgartner is to make the jump from a balloon at a slightly lower altitude – 120,000 feet – somewhere in New Mexico as announced last May.