Felix Baumgartner breaks sound barrier as he skydives from the edge of space |
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| By adamrowden, 15 Oct '12 at 11:48 |
Felix Baumgartner is a man that will go down in history as one of the raddest people the world has ever known. Yesterday he became the first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound, when he reached a maximum velocity of 833.9mph (1,342km/h).
Felix travelled to the dizzying height of 128,100ft (24 miles; 39km) in a stratospheric balloon above New Mexico. The 43-year-old Austrian also broke the record for the highest ever freefall. The jump took just under 10 minutes for him to descend, however, only the last few thousand feet were negotiated by parachute.
The dive was originally planned for the 8th October, however, it had to be postponed due to the weather conditions. Felix said that he almost aborted the dive yesterday after his helmet visor fogged up, however he went through with it and broke records that have stood for more than 50 years.
Joe Kittinger set his marks for the highest, farthest, and longest freefall when he leapt from a helium envelope in 1960. His altitude was 102,800ft (31km). (His record for the longest freefall remains intact - he fell for more than four and a half minutes before deploying his chute; Baumgartner was in freefall for four minutes and 20 seconds).
And Kittinger himself, who is now in his eighties, was an integral part of the team of experts who were aiding Felix in his record attempt.
There was an initial worry early in the dive that Felix was in trouble. He was meant to get himself into delta position - head down, arms swept back - as soon as possible after making the jump, but the video showed that he was continually tumbling. He did eventually use his experience to correct his fall and get into a stable position.
As he landed Felix fell to his knees and punched the air in triumph, an image that is sure to go down in history. A helicopter team was able to pick him up moments later.
Speaking to the BBC after the jump, Felix said: "Let me tell you - when I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble. You don't think about breaking records anymore, you don't think about gaining scientific data - the only thing that you want is to come back alive."
And we are glad he did!
Watch it on YouTube
here
Picture:
NASA Goddard Photo
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