Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner plummeted 128,100 feet, 24 miles above Earth, traveling faster than the speed of sound on Sunday morning.
The 43-year-old daredevil, known as “Fearless Felix,” broke the record for the highest jump, surpassing Col. Joe Kittinger’s 102,800 feet jump in 1960.
Baumgartner, a helicopter pilot and former soldier, has spent the last five years preparing for this stunt. He has parachuted from the Petronas Towers in Malaysia and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.
Baumgartner fell as fast as 833.9 mph, breaking the speed of sound, which is 761.2 mph.
The daredevil set off in New Mexico, strapped into a pressurized capsule that hung from a giant helium balloon for two hours before making his leap.
Baumgartner crouched in a delta position with his body resembling an arrow-like shape to reach the highest speed possible.
About three minutes into his fall, he experienced glitches including his visor fogging up and when he began to veer into a flat spin, which could have caused fatal problems.
Baumgartner, along with the support of Mission Control, practiced safety precautions such as avoiding getting stuck in a horizontal spin and ensuring the pressurized flight suit and helmet met specific regulations.
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