French daredevil Michel Fournier says he hopes to begin his ascent to 130,000 feet above the Earth just before sunrise Tuesday, for a record-breaking free fall in which he'll break the speed of sound.

Poor weather conditions at the site of the launch in North Battleford, Sask., have forced Fournier's team to delay the attempt several times this past weekend.

"If I were a little late, the wind picks up very quickly with the sunrise and we cannot take this risk," Fournier told reporters Monday in French.

His team hopes to begin preparations shortly after midnight Monday, and have a helium-filled balloon ready to carry Fournier into the sky at 4 a.m. CST. It takes him at least two hours to prepare.

The time it will take for him to reach 130,000 feet is roughly two-and-a-half hours, so he will begin his 15-minute free fall after 6 a.m. CST.

The 64-year-old former French paratrooper had hoped to try an attempt Monday morning but it was postponed because of wind and cloud concerns.

Fournier travelled to Canada to make the 40-kilometre free fall jump from the Earth's stratosphere after officials in his home country said the jump was too risky.

If Tuesday's attempt is successful, he will have fallen to Earth from roughly four times the altitude at which a commercial airliner normally flies.

Fournier, who plans to wear a sealed space suit for the jump, is expected to break the sound barrier on the way down before releasing his chute about 1,500 metres above the ground.

He is trying to break four new world records: fastest free fall, longest free fall, highest jump, and highest altitude reached by a man in a balloon.

On two previous attempts, Fournier's balloon was torn apart by strong winds and the jump had to be called off. The massive balloon is stronger this time around, reinforced with three layers.

Fournier hopes to collect data that will help astronauts and others survive at high altitudes. It could also someday lead to rescuing astronauts in-flight.

Fournier's two previous attempts were in 2002 and 2003.