Nik Wallenda prepares to walk across Niagara Falls

(CBS News) Nik Wallenda will perform the tightroping act of his life tonight, as he attempts to walk across a 1,800-foot, 2-inch steel cable that spans Niagara Falls for a live television event to air on ABC.

Pictures: Wallenda family shares risk-taking gene

The network has ensured that there will be no on-camera free fall, demanding that Wallenda wear a safety harness.

"We wanted it to be an exciting, family-friendly occasion," said ABC's senior vice president for content and development, James Goldston, according to reports in the Los Angeles Times. Wallenda isn't thrilled about the provision.

"I'm wearing a tether because they're making me wear a tether," Wallenda said at a news conference. "I don't trust it. It's not the way my mind works," he said of the safety apparatus.

This might come as a surprise to  those  familiar with  past tragedies in the famous family of high-wire artists .Among the victims of acrobatic mishaps was  Wallenda's grandfather Karl who fell to his death during a 1978 high-wire act in Puerto Rico.

Wallenda will start his walk from the U.S. side across three of Niagara Falls' cascades to Ontario. The event will air on ABC at 9 p.m. June 15.