An Austrian daredevil leapt into the stratosphere from a balloon hovering near the edge of space 38 km above Earth on Sunday, breaking as many as three world records including the highest skydive ever, project sponsors said. Cheers broke out as Felix Baumgartner, 43, jumped from a skateboard sized shelf outside the 11-by-8-foot fiberglass and acrylic capsule that was carried as high as 128,000 feet by an enormous balloon. “We love you Felix!” screamed the crowd as he plunged through the stratosphere.
His body pierced the atmosphere at speeds topping 1,137 km per hour, appearing to achieve another of his goals: to become the first skydiver to break the speed of sound, said project spokeswoman Sarah Anderson.
He sped toward Earth on the 65th anniversary of legendary American pilot Chuck Yeager’s flight shattering the sound barrier on October 14, 1947.
Baumgartner broke records for the highest altitude manned balloon flight and the highest altitude skydive before landing safely on the ground and raising his arms in a victory salute about 10 minutes after he stepped into the air.
As his tearyeyed mother, father and girlfriend watched on monitors miles below, Baumgartner prepared to jump from the pressurized capsule by going through a checklist of 40 items with project adviser Joe Kittinger, holder of a 30 km altitude parachute jump record that Baumgartner smashed. Earlier in the flight, he expressed concern that his astronaut-like helmet was not heating properly.
“This is very serious, Joe,” said Baumgartner as the capsule, designed to remain at 55°F ascended in skies where temperatures were expected to plunge below -91.8°F (-67.8°C), according to the project’s website. “Sometimes it’s getting foggy when I exhale. ... I do not feel heat.”
Baumgartner’s ascent into the stratosphere took about 2 1/2 hours. The 30 million-cubic-foot plastic balloon, is about one-tenth the thickness of a Ziploc bag, or roughly as thin as a dry cleaner bag.
This attempt marked the end of a five-year road for Baumgartner, a record-setting high-altitude jumper. He had already made two preparation jumps in the area, one from 24km high and another from 29km high. It will also be the end of his extreme altitude jumping career; he has promised this will be his final jump.
Baumgartner has said he plans to settle down with his girlfriend and fly helicopters on mountain rescue and firefighting missions. AGENCIES
