LOS ANGELES: An Austrian daredevil is preparing to make a new attempt on Sunday to jump from the edge of space, days after his initial bid was aborted at the last minute due to the weather.

Felix Baumgartner will be transported up to 23 miles above the New Mexico desert by an enormous balloon, before launching himself into the void, aiming to become the first human to break the sound barrier in freefall.

If successful, he will go down in the record books. If not, he could face serious consequences, including death. Organizers say that if weather prevents an attempt on Sunday, they could try again on Monday.

The 43-year-old was seconds away from lift-off in the US state of New Mexico on Tuesday when organizers decided to cancel because his huge, gossamer-thin balloon was buffeted badly, even while still on the ground.

But conditions seem favorable on Sunday morning. “The preliminary weather outlook is promising for another try at a leap for the ages,” organizers said in an eve-of-leap update on Saturday.

Baumgartner himself said that he was “rested and ready to go” for the new jump.

“I’m here with my family and friends who are all super supportive. I go to the gym and try to keep myself fit. I’ve done all of my homework and had all of my briefings with the team I trust,” he said.

He added that he would be proud to be the first person to break the speed of sound in freefall.

“But really, I know that part of this entire experience will help make the next pressure suit safer for space tourists and aviators,” the jumper pointed out.

A very large balloon is needed to carry the Red Bull Stratos capsule, which weighs nearly 1.3 tons, to the stratosphere.

The balloon that is expected to be used on Sunday is constructed of nearly transparent polyethylene strips about the same thickness as a dry cleaner bag, which are heat-sealed together. Very thin material is necessary to save weight.

The ascent is expected to take between two and three hours. If all goes well, the descent will take about 15 to 20 minutes—five minutes or so in freefall, and 10 to 15 floating down with his parachute.

The entire attempt will be beamed live by broadcasters around the world, and online—although with a 20-second delay in case something goes wrong, so that organizers can cut the feed.

The biggest risk he faces is spinning out of control, which could exert G forces and make him lose consciousness. A controlled dive from the capsule is essential, putting him in a head-down position to increase speed. More gruesomely, the skydiver’s blood could boil if there were the slightest tear or crack in his pressurized spacesuit-like outfit, due to instant depressurization at the extreme altitude.

Temperatures of 90 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 68 Celsius) could also have unpredictable consequences if his suit somehow fails.

“If there is a mishap, Mission Control is on it and would absolutely cut the feed,” spokeswoman Sarah Anderson told Agence France-Presse.

Baumgartner aims to break at least three records: the highest freefall leap, the fastest speed ever achieved by a human and become the first person to break the sound barrier of around 690 miles (1,110 kilometers) per hour in freefall.

The Austrian has been training for five years for the jump. He holds several previous records, notably with spectacular base jumps from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The experiment coincides with the 65th anniversary of American pilot Chuck Yaeger breaking the speed of sound.