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Felix breaks three world records and breaks the sound barrier with skydive jump from the edge of space [UPDATE]

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Felxi Baumgartner beginning his record breaking jump from space

Felix Baumgartner, Australian daredevil, successfully jumped from 128,100 feet (24 miles) above the Earth plunging 833.9 MPH (Mach 1.24) to break the sound barrier. Baumgartner rode in a special capsule and wore a 100 pound pressurized flight suit that protected him from the 70 degrees below zero temperature and kept his blood from vaporizing in the thin atmosphere.  Floating higher than any human had ever risen from a balloon, he jumped from the stratosphere to smash three world records.

How the jump went down

At 11:30 EDT, the pressurized Stratus capsule, attached to a giant helium balloon, climbed for two hours to reach the highest point every attained by a human in a balloon. Baumgartner then ran through a 40-step checklist. The door of the capsule opened, the pressure equalized, and Felix pushed out of his seat to jump to Earth. His last words before making the jump:

“If you could see what I could see. Sometimes you have to be up really high to see how small you are. I’m going home now.”

Felix maximized his speed by forming a crouched “delta” position. At one point he began to veer into a “flat spin”, a condition that he had trained for, which would have sent blood rushing to his head (called a “redout”) and caused him to veer out of control. Felix said at one point he thought he was out of control and considered pressing the emergency button that would have released a drogue chute. He regained control though, and was able to continue the jump and break the world records.

The hardware used in the jump

The Stratos balloon is described as “a forty-acre dry cleaning bag”.  It is made of strips of extremely thin plastic film (about .0008 inches thick) and extends 55 stories high.  As the balloon rises, it expands to become nearly round.  It is filled with two truckloads of helium.

Baumgartner’s jumpsuit is essentially a spacesuit that is pressurized to 3 psi.  It is attached to a main and reserve parachute.  The chutes are designed to open at a maximum of 172 MPH so Felix had to slow down in the lower levels of the atmosphere before deploying the chutes.

The capsule featured nine HD cameras and three 4K cameras alongside three more high-resolution digital still cameras ensuring every moment of the historical event was recorded. Felix’s suit itself incorporated three more HD video cameras in addition to audio-recording and transmitting equipment.  Because of the extreme altitude, the cameras’ electronic components were housed inside a pressurized, nitrogen-filled “keg”.  All cameras were remotely controlled from the ground.

Felix Baumgartner comments after the record breaking jump

Baumgartner after his record-breaking skydive jumpSome of Felix’s press conference comments after the record-breaking jump:

“One of the most exciting moments was standing out on top of the world, 30 seconds before stepping off… On the step I felt that the whole world is watching. I said I wish they would see what I see. It was amazing.”

“There was a time I really thought I was in trouble. I had to decide to fight all the way down and I finally got stable.”  [this is when he started to spin, apparently out of control]

“That spin became so violent it was hard to know how to get out of it. I was able to get it under control and break the speed of sound."

“I could feel myself break the speed of sound. I could feel the air building up and then I hit it.”

Felix Baumgartner at the moment he jumpedThe world records that were broken

The records Baumgartner broke during his 4 minute 20 second fall included:

Highest altitude reached by a human in a balloon. Record held by Lieutenant Commander Victor A. prather, Jr. and US Navy Reserve Captain Malcolm D. Ross who reached 113,740 feet on May 4, 1961. Prather drowned in the Gulf of Mexico after the jump.  Ross survived.  Felix reached an altitude of 128,100 feet (24 miles).

Highest jump. Record held by US Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger who jumped from 102,800 feet on August 16, 1960.

Fastest man without any mechanical propulsion. Also held by Joe Kittinger who reached 614 MPH. Felix reached 833.9 MPH (Mach 1.24).

You can watch video of the jump below:

 

Felix Baumgartner record breaking stratosphere jump from the edge of space

 

Felix Baumgartner prepares for his record-breaking jump
 
Record-breaking jump from Felix viewpoint
Sources: CNN, Red Bull, NBC News
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