The world watched a year ago on October 14, as skydiver Felix Baumgartner stepped from a balloon gondola suspended 24 miles above New Mexico. Red Bull, which sponsored the “Stratos” project, has just released a unique YouTube video (shown below), including footage from three point-of-view cameras and on-screen readouts showing the skydiver’s speed and altitude for the duration of the jump.
In a single jump, Baumgartner set records for the highest altitude for a manned balloon flight (127,852 feet); highest parachute freefall jump (same altitude); and the fastest freefall at 843.6 mph, which translated to Mach 1.27 under the prevailing atmospheric conditions. The jump secured Baumgartner’s status as the first human to exceed the speed of sound outside of a vehicle. His freefall lasted four minutes and 19 seconds, which is 17 seconds less than previous record holder Joseph Kittinger’s 1960 jump. Kittinger served as an advisor to Baumgartner in last year’s project.
Check out 10 questions about Baumgartner’s jump here.
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