London, Feb 19 : An ex-British SAS soldier is hoping to enter record books - by skydiving from 120,000ft.

Movie stuntman Steve Truglia will jump from a hot air balloon 24 miles up on the edge of space, three times the travelling height of a Jumbo jet.

Only a Space Shuttle flies at a higher altitude, detaching its rocket boosters at 150,000ft.

Truglia will dive for seven minutes before opening his parachute, and could break the 770mph sound barrier as he dashes towards the ground.

No individual has ever attempted travelling at such a speed outside an aircraft.

Truglia will require a pressurised space suit in temperatures of -100°C and risks going into an 800 revolutions per second spin.

"It's the last great challenge left on Earth. Obviously it will be dangerous. We're playing with a lot of unknowns. But it's my job to assess risk and I don't believe the problems are insurmountable," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

Steve plans a jump from 52,000ft over Norfolk in May to break the European record, before attempting the world record in the autumn.

After being a veteran of 1,200 jumps with 21 SAS Regiment and the Royal Marines, Steve has co-ordinated stunts in Bond films.

ANI