Space and Physics
PUBLISHED
On October 14, 2012, over 8 million people watched live as Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner made history by skydiving out of a balloon around 39 kilometers (24 miles) off Earth’s surface. During his 4 minute, 19 second drop, he reached a top speed of 1,357.6 km/h (843.6 mph) and became the first person to break the sound barrier outside of a vehicle. A new video has been released, detailing Baumgartner’s point of view during the descent from two GoPros connected to his suit.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.Though the free fall started out quite stable, Baumgartner began to lose control right around the time he hit Mach 1. He began to spin uncontrollably and the additional force took such a toll on his body, he nearly lost consciousness. Fortunately, he was able to recover, deploy his chute on time, and land on his feet after jumping out of a balloon in the stratosphere.
WARNING: Because of the spinning, this can be a little hard to watch for those with vertigo and vertigo-associated disorders. View at your own discretion.
