Austrian Skydiver Felix Baumgartner Shatters World Records In 24-Mile Jump – Business Insider
Felix Baumgartner successfully jumped from 24 miles above Earth today.
By doing this, the 43-year-old from Austria became the first person to break the speed of sound wearing only a high-pressure suit.
A top speed of 833.9 mph, or mach 1.24 was reached.
“I could feel myself break the speed of sound. I could feel the air building up and then I hit it,” Baumgartner said according to the Red Bull Stratos Twitter feed.
The landmark jump comes 65 years to the day after U.S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in a rocket plane.
Baumgartner shattered three other world records: highest manned balloon flight, highest altitude jump and the fastest free fall.
The latter two milestones were first set by former Air Force test pilot Joseph Kittinger in 1960, who served as Baumgartner’s mentor throughout five years of meticulous preparation.
Baumgartner did not set a new record for the longest free fall. Kittinger still holds onto that title with his free fall of 4 minutes and 36 seconds. The Austrian ‘s free fall only la