An Austrian pilot and daredevil is set to announce that he will be performing the ultimate skydive: from the edge of space.

Felix Baumgartner will make the jump from a balloon at an altitude of 120,000ft (36,000m). He is expected to break the sound barrier just 35 seconds after leaving the balloon and will plummet back to Earth at an eye-watering speed of 690mph.

He will be protected by a pressurised suit that will supply him with oxygen and defend him against temperatures as low as -60C.

His team is expected to announce this week that the attempt will take place in skies above New Mexico sometime in August.

In the next few months, Baumgartner, who became the first person to 'skydive' across the English Channel in 2003, will perform test jumps from 60,000ft and 90,000ft.

If successful, the jump will break four world records that have remained unbroken for more than 50 years: the highest altitude freefall, the highest manned balloon flight, the longest distance travelled in freefall and the speed record for the fastest freefall.

The original records were set by US air force Captain Joseph Kittinger in August 1960. From his balloon, Excelsior III, he jumped from 102,00ft (31,330m) and the records have stood unchallenged ever since.

Baumgartner is hoping that, in the new age of space tourism, the stunt will pave the way for a new era of extreme sports, such as space diving.