Ten years ago, on 14 October 2012, more than eight million people tuned in online to watch the Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner jump from the edge of space and set three FAI world records.
At 38 969,4m altitude above Roswell, New Mexico, Baumgartner stepped out of the pressurised capsule which was suspended from a gas balloon, wearing a specially-designed suit. He made a freefall of 36 402,6m, some of it in a “violent spin” until he pulled his parachute, stabilised and floated safely to earth.
Pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria seen during the egress training for the Red Bull Stratos mission in Lancaster, California, USA on February 23 2012
Among the achievements made by this jump were three FAI world records:
- Maximum vertical speed (without a drogue): 1 357,6 km/h
- Exit altitude: 38 969,4 metres
- Distance of fall (without a drogue): 36 402,6 metres
In this jump, Baumgartner broke his own maximum vertical speed record which he had set in March 2012. His 14 October record still stands today, as does his fall distance record, but the exit altitude record was superseded by Alan Eustace in 2014, who rose up to the stratosphere suspended under a gas balloon, then jumped from 41 422m.
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Baumgartner also became the first person to break the speed of sound without the protection or propulsion of a vehicle. He was ‘supersonic’ for 30 seconds and reached Mach 1.25. Interestingly, it was on 14 October 1947, 65 years to the day, that Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound at Mach 1.05 in X-1 Glamorous Glennis.
Baumgartner was awarded the FAI Gold Parachuting Medal in 2014.
Centre Photo: Jörg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
Source: FAI Press Release