Mission accomplished! After flying to an altitude of more than 128,000 feet (39,000 meters) in a helium-filled balloon, Red Bull Stratos pilot Felix Baumgartner completed a record breaking skydive on October 14, 2012 from the edge of space (I know, I know... it's not actually the edge of space, but their marketing team deserves to have some fun too). During his 4:20 freefall, Felix reached a maximum speed of 833mph (1,342.8 km/h), which set a new world record as the first human in history to break the sound barrier with his body! Mach 1.24... in a spacesuit! The 43-year-old Austrian also broke two other world records (highest freefall, highest manned balloon flight), leaving the record for the longest freefall to project mentor Col. Joe Kittinger.
Mission accomplished! After flying to an altitude of more than 128,000 feet (39,000 meters) in a helium-filled balloon, Red Bull Stratos pilot Felix Baumgartner completed a record breaking skydive on October 14, 2012 from the edge of space (I know, I know... it's not actually the edge of space, but their marketing team deserves to have some fun too). During his 4:20 freefall, Felix reached a maximum speed of 833mph (1,342.8 km/h), which set a new world record as the first human in history to break the sound barrier with his body! Mach 1.24... in a spacesuit! The 43-year-old Austrian also broke two other world records (highest freefall, highest manned balloon flight), leaving the record for the longest freefall to project mentor Col. Joe Kittinger.
