They call him “Fearless Felix” for a reason.
On Sunday, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner parachuted into the history books after successfully making a leap from the edge of space, in what is the world’s first supersonic skydive.
He is the first person to go faster that the speed of sound.
The Austrian skydiver dropped to Earth from more 24.5 miles in the air in a historic fall from the edge of space.
Baumgartner jumped into a virtual vacuum with air pressure so low that a slight tear in his high-tech spacesuit could have instantly killed him.
“I’m coming home,” Baumgartner said before he jumped.
He was in free-fall for approximately 4 minutes and 22 seconds,
“My visor is fogging up,” he told ground control over his radio.
Moments later, his parachute opened, allowing his family and training team on the ground to breathe a massive sigh of relief.
“I practiced this for so many years,” Baumgartner said while training for the big jump. “This is my biggest dream.”
The 43-year-old had a couple of disappointments and weather-related cancellations this week.
He was set to take the leap Tuesday, Oct. 9, but winds at 20 miles per hour at the top of the 55-story helium balloon that was to lift him into the stratosphere were far faster than the safe 3 mph limit.
It took approximately three hours for the balloon to rise to 120,000 feet today, which is also the 65th anniversary of when legendary pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier.
Prior to his incredible feat, he revealed he felt “like a tiger in a cage waiting to get out”.
British website shinesquad.me detailed how Baumgartner spent the last 24 hours leading up to his historic leap and it’s an interesting read. From everything to what he was allowed to eat prior to the jump and last-minute medical checks to the painstaking process of just fitting him in his suit, is covered in the moments before his Red Bull Stratos Launch.
Watch the incredible footage from today’s phenomenal leap below..
[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNn4sPqLnNI']
[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW5eCCpObZ4']
[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzfpq9H0RG8&NR=1']
What do you think?