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All the team at project SpaceJump and Prostunts are mourning the untimely death of one of the World's greatest and most charismatic skydivers Eli Thompson.
A veteran of over 10,000 jumps and a Red Bull athlete, Eli was lost whilst training in Switzerland, doing what he loved. He will be missed by the whole skydiving community across the globe.
Our sincere condolences go to Eli's wife and family at this sad time.
The TED Conference in Oxford July 2009 was absolutely amazing. It was a huge honour to be asked to be a speaker at such an incredible event.
Here are a couple of pictures from that talk. Witin the next few weeks the video of the talk will be published on TED's site.
Here I'm showing the TED audience the spacesuit that I'll wear on the Space Jump mission to 120,000ft.
And here talking about improvements in stunt work due to advances in technology.
Last week was the first opportunity to fly my new Russian custom made spacesuit. It's the only one of it's kind in the World, having been put through it's paces at the American company which makes suits for NASA, (company and manufacturers names witheld until after the jump).
Photo courtesy of Aikix. Geeking in on my pic is Andy Godbold, sky god!
The next tests will include the life support system and parachute container. Further tests will include flying the drogue chute in the tunnel to test stability. Then it's on to the hypobaric and cold temperature tests.
NB: THIS PROJECT URGENTLY NEEDS SPONSORSHIP, please help us break this exciting record which has stood since 1960!
Hi folks,
I've had lots of messages regarding the status of the jump so here's the update, and answers to many of the questions received:
Just about everything is now in place to perform the jump as soon as the last bit of sponsorship is in. The spacesuit is in great shape and passed all it's basic tests at the American company that makes suits for NASA. It will undergo the final proof pressure tests as soon as we start the battery of pre launch testing.
The specially 'designed for purpose' parachute rig is now with me, as is the spacesuit.
Launch site(s) have been established and permissions are to be sought shortly.
A slight delay in the Life Support System has meant a switch to an alternative supplier who supply the NASA systems. They will be building a special system for my suit.
We have put the documentary on hold until the funds are in and will start filming shortly after that occurs.
The French team now have to wait until next May, and it seems unlikely they will launch even then. This gives us a comfortable breathing space of at least eight months. With no other serious attempts out there, things are looking great and we can still launch this year or early 2009.
To answer the many questions regarding the spacesuit, balloon, scientific team, launch crew and strategy, please be patient. You may have noticed a couple of people who jumped on the 'I'll have a go at that' bandwagon, with clearly no idea of what something like this entails, and without the skills or background, (one isn't even a skydiver!!). For this reason, and because there is still a serious threat from the French, my team and scientific support are not being publicised. They are an incredible group of world leading specialists and will be fully credited and revealed in the book and documentary.
The photo below was taken at the headquarters of the US spacesuit company who have helped me so much, and will be rebuilding the suit after the test jumps, ready for the big one. This is a current NASA suit which they manufacture.
It's been a long road; 15 years of research and planning, 24 years of parachuting and extreme sports experience and 12 years of specialist stunts and risk assessing .... and we could be launching in a few months. Exciting times indeed.
Thanks for all your support and interest thus far,
Steve
Things are progressing very well at this end. UK's Channel 5 have agreed to make the documentary which will be distributed internationally. A book deal is being planned to coincide with that.
The Space Jump Project still needs some sponsorship to get the record jump done this year.
There are huge advertising benefits available for companies, in terms of the worldwide media which will report on this event, inclusion in the documentary and book, and many other corporate benefits including presentations after the event and future advertising opportunities.
Philanthropists out there who support this event can rely on a 'return' on their financial support in the form of fund raising activities after the jump for their chosen charities.
If you have any ideas, contacts or want to be involved in helping us make this happen in any way, get in touch. Project Space Jump 2008 needs your help.
Black Skies
Steve Truglia
Those great guys at Soldier Magazine have published a nice update on the SpaceJump project in this month's (June) edition.
Many thanks to Soldier Magazine.
Click on the picture to read the article.
Well the great news is that my new suit has been delivered, having been tested and adjusted in the USA at the company that makes the NASA space station suits. The suit itself was designed and built by one of the world's leading space suit designers in Russia. This incredible collaboration is driving a new breed of spacesuit designed to service the new emerging space tourism market.
I am both proud and excited about my part in driving this development, and ultimately, test flying the suits as we modify them for sub orbital stratospheric flights.
The full pressure suit is designed to keep the wearer in a fully pressurised environment. This is the only safe way to survive in a near vacuum. The life support system for the suit is at the final design stage and will be ready for testing within two weeks.
A barrage of cold chamber, hypobaric chamber and skydiving tests will then follow. Some initial test flights will be made at the Airkix indoor skydiving tunnel in Milton Keynes, UK, before real time tests and balloon jumps from my gondola, which has just been built.
Things are still well on track for a late July launch attempt at the world record.
Here's a great news feature which was filmed by Reuters and distributed internationally.
Great News from my Spacesuit manufacturers, the first of a new generation of space suits is now ready for me. The custom made, bespoke suit has passed all it's test.
I spent a day in the USA fitting and testing the suit at an American company that makes spacesuits for the NASA space station.
The suit itself has been prototyped, designed and manufactured by one of Russia's most experienced and prolific spacesuit engineers for almost 20 years. Following on from my trip to Moscow to try on the suit and check it for suitability for the jump, a new shell has been designed specifically for this purpose in an amazing teaming up of spacesuit expertise from across the globe.
One of the major challenges for me has been sourcing a full pressure space suit.
There is technically an argument for jumping in a partial pressure G suit, but the risks would be unacceptably high. Above 64,000 feet the liquid in the cells of the human body will try to boil (vaporisation), causing the body and it's organs to swell. This would cause loss of consciousness and death in seconds.
The safest, most responsible way to mitigate this danger is a full pressure spacesuit designed specifically for this purpose.
We also spent some time testing a good position for me in the gondola with the parachute on. My parachute manufacturers are actually designing a custom rig for this jump, based on the one I'm wearing here, the CPS Sigma tandem rig.
The measurements we took are now being implemented by the gondola and balloon designer and manufacturer in the USA. A semi seated position like this is the favourite at this time.
As the life support system team continue working on this essential piece of equipment, I will need to decide on whether to use the Mig pilot's helmet (te white one), or the custom made spacesuit (orange) helmet with the large visor. Once this is done we'll test it in a hypobaric chamber.
To launch my high altitude balloon for the jumps in the USA I'll need an FAA Balloon Pilots Certificate with a Gas Balloon Rating.
The start of that training was with one of the World's leading hot air balloonists Brent Stockwell in North California. Brent patiently took me through the astonishing amount of information required to safely fly a hot air balloon. Brent has been flying balloons for almost 40 years, so I couldn't have picked a better teacher. My other instructor Gloria and the lovely Debbie who ground crewed for us taught me a great deal about this fabulous thing.
In an amazing twist of fate I discovered that Brent was lifelong friends of Joe Kittinger who holds the current high altitude parachute jump record. Joe is a keen balloonist too and indeed the early pioneers of high altitude balloon and parachute testing were all qualified balloon pilots. joe and Brent have often flown together. This is an essential part of my training, but outside of it's functionality I have absolutely fallen in love with this most wonderful of sports, it's simply stunning.
During my week's training I logged over 10 hours of flying including four solo flights. This picture is of my first solo. I learnt so much from Brent who had me in constant ground school, from the moment I awoke, to the moment I retired. Not a moment was wasted as the information flowed.
I now need to pass my FAA pilots exam, pass a check ride, then get my gas balloon rating so that I can fly 
Helium or Hydrogen balloons as well as hot air balloons. I am already working towards my commercial pilots license and clocking up as many hours as possible.
My new space suit for the first test jump is ready, and so I travelled to Russia on Sunday to try it on before the (jump specific) alterations are made.
The trip was extremely useful as I got my head around the sheer difficulty in moving in a pressuried suit. Skydiving in this thing is going to be extremely challenging. Fortunately I have the Airkix indoor skydiving tunnel to practice in.
The life support system for this suit is being made from scratch and I'm fortunate in having a tremendous team of scientists, a leading Doctor of aviation medicine (with a mass of HALO jump experience), and a leading space suit designer and manufacturer behind me. This group of outstanding professionals are working together to custom build my suit's life support system for my jumps in a near vacuum.
A cold chamber test will be performed to simulate over 2 hours at more than -60 degrees. Following that the whole system will be tested in the skydiving tunnel, followed by a full mission profile test in a hypobaric chamber. Air will be removed in the exact mission time to establish that all systems are operating correctly and reliably.
Following all this I will wear this suit for my 52,000 feet test jump this June in the USA.
A New suit with added safety and structural features is being made for the 120,000 feet jump this July.
Newsflash: Team Space Jump can reveal that the High Altitude Parachute Jump World Record has been brought forward to THIS JULY 2008.
Training is going very well and a gas balloon system has been sourced, along with two full pressure space suits.
The current schedule is as follows:
June 2008, Steve Truglia to perform a 52,000 feet High Altitude Parachute Jump from a gas balloon which Steve will pilot himself, wearing a full pressure spacesuit.
July 2008, providing a successful test flight in June, Steve will attempt to break the High Altitude Parachute Jump World Record by jumping from over 125,000 feet. Both jumps will take place in the USA and will be ratified by the FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale).
Here's a link to the News story about the High Altitude Parachute Jump Record which was shown on ITV regional news, ITV News at 10, and CNN News. Many thanks to ITV News team and reporter Nina Nannar.
The press frenzy continued throughout this week as Channel 5 News, ITV News, Kerrang Radio, LBC Radio and a host of other media took an interst in the High Altitude Parachute Jump Project.
ITV News were keen for some skydiving footage of me in the pressure suit. Fortunately I had already flown the suit and helmet in the Airkix indoor skydiving tunnel at Milton Keynes on Monday for Channel 5 News. The great value of the tunnel is the ability to test equipment in a safe environment. Over 30 minutes of flying the suit, many of the problems were solved. One overiding issue was the fact that I cannot get my head back or arch my body in this suit. This makes skydiving very difficult. The body position, combined with the difficulty trying to arch properly, makes for a slightly unstable freefall with my body rocking slightly. More modifications to the kit and tunnel testing should iron out these niggles.
It is becoming increasingly clear that a small drogue chute may be needed on the big jumps for stability.
Master skydiving cameraman, wingsuit expert and freeflying champion Andy Ford has joined the SpaceJump team with his extensive expertese as a freefall cameraman. His amazing video of my jumps today were shown on ITV's 6.30 and award winning News at 10 programme. The ITV production team were blown away by the skill and sheer quality of Andy's camera work.
These incredible pics were taken by Andy while he was shooting video at the same time...awesome!
Andy teaches complete beginners to advanced skydivers, from first time jumpers to freefly teams. Find out more about his services here www.infiniteskydiving.com
Watch this space...video clip coming soon...
Those lovely people at the Sunday Times have run a great feature about my Space Jump record attempt.
The article is great, (except they got my age wrong), and can be read below in word document form, or here as a link to The Times Online article.
I had a fantastic time doing an interview on Nuts TV. The highlight was being interviewed by Steve and Dan (Of Big Chef Little Chef and Crash Test Dummies fame). I had the great pleasure of working with these two loonies on Sky's Crash Test Dummies series as their Stunt Coordinator. That job, thanks mainly to these guys and the great crew from Granada Manchester, stands out as one of my favourites.
I'll post a video link of the interview as soon as it becomes available.
I had a great time in Barcelona today, where I attended the Parachute Industry Association's annual symposium. There were an amazing group of leading parachute equipment manufacturers and those servicing the skydiving industry. From the latest in sport parachute systems, to the very best military HALO and HAHO kit. A great deal of ancillary equipment was also displayed. I may even have found an altimeter which will work at up to 60,000 feet and minus 60 degrees, perfect!
Apart from checking out some great new equipment, including a head up display designed for military special forces high altitude high opening (HAHO) parachutists (see picture), I had a great meeting with an amazing group of potential sponsors whose combined experience in the skydiving field was quite overwhelming, in the nicest of ways. I am hoping to team up with some of these guys as sponsor / partners to the Space Jump project.
Training is well under way for the 52,000 feet European Record High Altitude Parachute Jump planned for May / June 2008.
Project SpaceJump welcomes Airkix Indoor Skydiving as it's latest sponsor and I started testing the freefalling characteristics of what will be a long line of various space suits in their Milton Kynes Tunnel today. This one was designed for Russian high altitude Mig pilots.
The suit flew me, rather than the other way around. Helmet visor steamed up, hose pulled helmet out of line and the parachute (tunnel rig), stopped me from arching properly and keeping my head up. A testimony to the usefullness of this tunnel is the fact that just 5 minutes saw me overcome those problems and fly the suit more easily. This is a major safety factor. I can test systems here before ever stepping out of a plane or balloon...brilliant.
Thanks to my tunnel coach and Airkix Tunnel Manager Andy for his continued guidance and great instruction.
Over the next three months I'll be training in this tunnel for at least 10 hours, which is equivalent to 600 skydives. On top of the 300 real skydives I'll be doing, this makes for an awesome training package. The great thing is that you don't need to be a skydiver to fly there. It's great fun.
I was all set to travel to Spain for a few day's jumping until I checked the weather. Empuriabrava is cloudy and there's rain predicted. The UK on the other hand, is blue skies all the way!! So a 
great weekend was had at Hinton, Northamptonshire, (as this picture shows).
Whilst in the area I popped into Weston on the Green today to have my sacrificial training pressure suit adjusted for safe use in freefall. There are packages of equipment arriving almost daily...if only the postman knew, what would he think?
Watch this space for a post and some photos of the kit, (including a full pressure space helmet), which I'm going to test jump soon, after flying it in the Airkix indoor skydiving tunnel. In a week's time I start my serious tunnel training regime consisting of 10 hours tunnel flying between now and the end of May...more info on this to follow.
The balloon envelope has arrived ahead of schedule. Some test flights will be made in it soon. The balloon gondola modifications are now being planned to allow me to sit on the edge of my 'step off' platform. Kittenger's step had a sign which read 'The Highest Step in the World'. For this jump mine will read 'The Highest Step in Europe'.
Our research shows that this 52,000 feet jump will make me the third highest parachutist in history.
Pressure suit, HALO helmet and Oxygen mask, together with the high altitude oxygen consol for both parachutist and balloon pilot are now being ordered in advance of altitude chamber and indoor wind tunnel testing. The parachutist's bail out system (ie the personal oxygen system worn during freefall) is also on order.
In the meantime I am planning another training skdiving trip next week to Spain, before visiting the Parachute Industry Association symposium in Barcelona for meetings with 
potential sponsors.
Intensive wind tunnel tunnel training will continue in the UK or overseas with press photo opportunities. Ultimately I'll be in the tunnel with all the kit for the big jump. After this jump, it'll be in a full space suit...watch this space :-)
Those nice people at the Sunday Times ran a short item on the forthcoming Space Jump project.
The link to the article is here: http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/news/article3250598.ece
And here's a word doc copy: Download sunday_times_article_27_jan_2008.doc
I'm just back from a fantastic trip skydiving at the Beni Mellal Parachute Centre in sunny Morocco. Nestled in the Atlas mountains, this dropzone is a tremendous place to jump. The French military team were there, the Russians and a few Brits. A great time was had by all. Thanks to Andy Lovemore who took these fantastic photos.
Over the next 3 months I plan to complete around 300 more jumps and 10 hours in the skydiving wind tunnel, in preparation for my 52,000 feet European Record High Altitude Parachute Jump in the Spring of 2008.
My training will involve almost every discipline in sport parachuting to ensure I hone my skills before subjecting myself to the harsh environment of 52,000 feet. I'll be practicing canopy control and accuracy skills with the larger canopy I'll be jumping on the day and freeflying to improve my ability to remain stable in the rarified atmosphere. This will bring my jump total to over 1,500 jumps.
There was time to sit back and enjoy the view over the Atlas mountains too. What a stunning location for a winter sun skydiving trip.
Soldier Magazine have run a great two page spread on my forthcoming SpaceJump project high altitude parachute jump record attempts. 
The article was based on the fact that much of my early parachute training was with the Army, and I probably wouldn't have become a stuntman, and certainly wouldn't have been making these record attempts had I not been a military reservist for so many years.
This was where it all started, with early parachute jumps from a balloon at 800 feet. I always loved those jumps because of the thrill of stepping off the balloon edge. It'll be the same on the Space Jump but a whole lot higher!
I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity and good health to have been able to enjoy such adventures with the Army and the Royal Marines Commandos.
I'm delighted that my local Esporta Club is to sponsor me in my Space Jump project. I'm currently training at their premier Repton Park Club in Woodford near Chigwell Essex around 4 times a week. The European Record High Altitude Parachute Jump will require me to be at an absolute peak of fitness, strength and flexibility, which I am working towards with the help of this fabulous club.
Apart from the great gym equipment, which is brand new, the club has the finest spa and pool of any health club I've ever used, as it's situated in a former chapel, absolutely stunning.
Esporta Health Club and Spa
Repton Park, Manor Road, Woodford Bridge, Essex IG8 8GN
Tel: 020 8506 6300
Those lovely people at the Daily Mirror Newspaper ran a great profile article about my life as a stuntman, and my High Altitude Parachute Space Jump project.
Read the article here as an Adobe pdf file:
Download Daily_Mirror_8_11_2007.pdf
In preparation for parachuting in a full pressure space suit, I have spent the day at the National Space Centre in Leicester, England, getting used to the technical and physical aspects of wearing my space suit. One major challenge will undoubtedly be trying to maintain a stable arch freefall position in a suit that is fully pressurised.
There are many obstacles to overcome in this project, and the lack of mobiliy in he suit is a major one. At minus 100 degrees, and with no air, the suit will be the nly thing keeping me alive.
I had a fantastic time thanks to the help and generosity of the Space Centre which is full of interesting exhibits and is well worth a visit.
The online Stunt Shop and Space Jump Shop is now open with a 
great range of products. The Stunt Shop offers Prostunts official Stunt Crew clothing. In the Space Jump store there are a number of price ranges for those who want to just buy a T shirt or mug, and for those who want to donate to the project.
Corporate sponsors should visit the sponsorship link on the Project Space Jump Site.
Due to the lack of air at 120,000 feet, a high altitude parachutist could easily spin out of control. To get a sense the amount of G forces I can take before blacking out, I went flying with my very good friend and aerobatic pilot Craig Beevers, who was UK Air Race Champion in 2005. Craig's Marchetti was just the tool for the job. Tunnel vision just before blackout is a really wierd experience as we pulled over 6 G's high over the Essex countryside. I nearly re decorated Caig's cockpit with my breakfast but managed to keep it down...just!
For more on my Space Jump training visit the Project Space Jump site.
I had a telephone conversation with current World Record holder Joe Kittinger (pictured left) the other day. He is 79 years of age now and his record, set in 1960, remains unbroken to this day.
Watch Joe's 3 Project Excelsior jumps culminating in his 1960 World Record Jump.
It was amazing to speak with Joe, having read so much about him over many years. He was terrific and wished me well in trying to break his record. He followed up our conversation with an email in which he signed off 'Happy Landings!' What a great guy.
In respect and recognition of Joe's achievement the Project Space Jump logo feature three stars, one for each of Joe's Excelsior Jumps.
Steve Truglia will attempt to set a new European High Altitude Parachute Record in the Spring of 2008 by parachuting from 52,000ft.
This jump will be heavily publicised and will constitute a significant milestone in Steve's preparation for the 120,000ft World Record jump from the edge of space - Project Space Jump. Steve will begin freefall training with the equipment he will need to wear for this 'spacediving' jump.
The temperature at 52,000ft will be around - 50 degrees. Even with an oxygen mask, at this altitude it will be impossible to breathe unassisted. Steve will need to wear a full, on demand oxygen system and a pressure suit to allow him to breathe.
I've been invited to join a Special Forces HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) training course in preparation for the planned record attempts. More about the Spacejump 'spacediving' project here.
As a former SAS and SBS Reservist, I've parachuted with other Special Forces from a variety of different countries, accruing hundreds of military jumps. In 1991, I qualified for the coveted US Marine Gold Wings.
I'll make a series of 30,000ft jumps in December 2007 to familiarise myself with the extra equipment I'll need for my European High Altitude Record Jump in early 2008, (more info on this to follow).
At 30,000ft it is impossible to survive without breathing oxygen before the flight (known as pre breathing), during the flight, and on a personal oxygen system during freefall.
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