Austrian jumps from the edge space

Felix Baumgartner moments before he leapt into the record books

Red Bull’s Extreme Base jumper 43-year-old Felix Baumgartner on Sunday afternoon completed his over 23-mile jump from the edge of space and has broken the World Record for the highest jump by a skydiver.

In the process he reached speeds of 1,342km/h, or 1.24 times the speed of sound.  No one has ever reached that speed wearing only a high-tech suit.

Cheers broke out as as the Austrian jumped from a tiny shelf outside the 11-by-8-foot fiberglass and acrylic capsule that was carried to 128,000 feet by an enormous balloon.

“My visor is fogging up,” he gasped over the radio as he fell through the air moments before his parachute opened to the applause of the crowd on the ground, including his teary-eyed mother, father and girlfriend, watching on monitors miles below.

Baumgartner’s ascent into the stratosphere took about 2 1/2 hours to 128,000 feet – almost four times the height of a cruising passenger airline. From there he leapt into the record books.

He broke the altitude record for highest manned balloon flight at over 113,740, the longest fall by a skydiver which was held by US Air Force Colonel Joseph Kittinger whose record in 1960 stood at 92,000 feet.

Baumgartner landed safely in the New Mexico desert after five years of planning for the mission.

The jump was watched by millions live on TV and on the internet.

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30 Comments

  1. Noobs
    October 15, 2012

    the picture DNO has as the record breaking jump picture is wrong that picture is from one of the test jumps please correct this error

  2. Pondera
    October 15, 2012

    Great achievement! The gentleman is worthy of commendation. I wish him success in this new breaking record.

  3. sweet
    October 15, 2012

    i was definitely watching it myself on CNN and trust me i was so scared for him. but when he landed on his knees i said , blessed. he made it, thats bravery, thats how people do when they want something in life, they go for it.

  4. Fladd
    October 15, 2012

    Two words….mister mad… :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

    • Anonymous
      January 14, 2013

      lol…

  5. Anonymous
    October 15, 2012

    where can i get the video. What is the name

  6. y
    October 15, 2012

    why can Felix see the whole earth when he is only 23 miles high?

    • Freethinker
      October 15, 2012

      Lemme guess–it was all a conspiracy, right? Just like 9/11 and the moon landing. SMH.

      • y
        October 15, 2012

        no. it is a serious question because of Pythagoras and his triangle stuff, you know….

    • Dwezzy
      October 15, 2012

      I was just asking myself the very same question.. hmmm… photoshop???? hmmm

  7. dominiqie
    October 15, 2012

    He must be white no black man would do such madness to get to the record books
    Madness I say

    • Freethinker
      October 15, 2012

      Congrats on being a racist buffoon.

      • noko
        October 16, 2012

        Meanwhile blacks are making it to the record books in terms of crime rates – against each other. See it can work both ways but black people are always the first to pull the race card, then they call others racist.

  8. Noobs
    October 14, 2012
  9. truth is
    October 14, 2012

    wow thats ingredible on so many levels :-D

  10. Riri
    October 14, 2012

    amazing

  11. sigh
    October 14, 2012

    where i can see it

    • DOMINICA
      October 14, 2012

      that was live on all Tv station today?

  12. Homeboy
    October 14, 2012

    What a day.. Oh and he did not break the record for the longest free fall. He was 16 seconds shy of that. But this guy must say the Creator Yahweh was with him today! For a moment when he started to rotate violently I was afraid for him..

  13. love barbie(kiel)
    October 14, 2012

    boy i need your bravery u are mad or something and please the others dont try this at home and no one should try to do wat he did or break his record when we get the world to be made out of soft stuff kkkkkk.3…. :twisted: i might try it but e em

  14. Homeboy
    October 14, 2012

    I think the previous guy who did it still has the longest free fall 4 mins 30 secs whereas this dude was 4:12. I stand corrected.

  15. Nudibranch
    October 14, 2012

    373 metres per second/ 833.9mph or mach 1.4
    Amazing to watch. Congrats to the whole team

  16. 123
    October 14, 2012

    One’s life is worth more than the record in the record books.

  17. 100 % Dominican
    October 14, 2012

    Amazing!!!!!! Brave!!!!!!!!!!! Crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!! Admirable!!!!!!!!!!!!
    looked at it live and I really did not think that he would have survived the great speeds at which he was travelling or that his parachute would have opened successfully but, thank God he made it!!!!!!!!!! Really amazing looking at it live!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations to the gentleman and his team!!!!!!!!!!1 I suppose that the sky is the limit…………… :wink:

    • Homeboy
      October 14, 2012

      I would have to agree with you, when he reached the point in his ‘ free fall ‘ when he started rotating almost violently I was telling my daughter he is not gonna make it!!

      But the grace of Yahweh and this Austrian’s skill eventually saw him controlling his spin and he made it.. I am happy for him…,

      • noko
        October 15, 2012

        Lol 5 years planning to pull this off. People credit the ‘grace of Yahweh’ as the reason he made it safely. smh

      • Freethinker
        October 15, 2012

        Praise the man’s own hard work and dedication. Giving thanks to Yahweh or Krishna or whoever cheapens the man’s own achievement, as well as those of the scientists who made this possible. No need to bring religion into this.

    • October 14, 2012

      tell me the video name

      • DOMINICA
        October 14, 2012

        It was live on TV today on ALL NEWS STATIONS

  18. Freethinker
    October 14, 2012

    Now this–aside from being the work of a daredevil–is the beauty of science.

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