Felix Baumgartner is an Austrian skydiver and a BASE jumper. He set the world record for skydiving an estimated 39 kilometres (128,000 ft), reaching an estimated speed of 1,342 kilometres per hour (834 mph), or Mach 1.24, on October 14, 2012.He is also renowned for the particularly dangerous nature of the stunts he has performed during his career. Baumgartner spent time in the Austrian military where he practiced parachute jumping, including training to land on small target zones.
Baumgartner’s most recent project was Red Bull Stratos, in which he jumped to Earth from a helium balloon in the stratosphere on 14 October 2012. As part of said project, he reached the altitude record for a manned balloon flight,parachute jump from the highest altitude, and greatest free fall velocity.
Baumgartner was born on 20 April 1969 in Salzburg, Austria.In 1999 he claimed the world record for the highest parachute jump from a building when he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On 31 July 2003, Baumgartner became the first person to skydive across the English Channel using a specially made carbon fiber wing. He also set the world record for the lowest BASE jump ever, when he jumped 95 feet (29 m) from the hand of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.
He became the first person to BASE jump from the completed Millau Viaduct in France on 27 June 2004 and the first person to skydive onto, then BASE jump from, the Turning Torso building in Malmö, Sweden on 18 August 2006. On 12 December 2007 he became the first person to jump from the 91st floor observation deck, then went to the 90th floor (about 390 m (1,280 ft)) of the then tallest completed building in the world, Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan.
In January 2010, it was reported that Baumgartner was working with a team of scientists and sponsor Red Bull to attempt the highest sky-dive on record.Baumgartner initially struggled with claustrophobia after spending time in the pressurized suit required for the jump, but overcame it with help from a sports psychologist and other specialists.
The launch was originally scheduled for 9 October 2012, but was aborted due to adverse weather conditions. Launch was rescheduled and the mission instead took place on 14 October 2012 when Baumgartner landed in eastern New Mexico after jumping from a world record 39,045 metres (128,100 ft) or just over 39 kilometres (24 mi). On the basis of provisional data, Baumgartner also set the record for the highest manned balloon flight (at the same height) and fastest speed of free fall at 1,342 kilometres per hour (834 mph) making him the first human to break the sound barrier outside of a vehicle.Baumgartner was in free fall for 4 minutes and 19 seconds, 17 seconds shy of mentor Joseph Kittinger’s 1960 jump.