Supersonic Free Fall
October 14, 2012 – This was the day that an Austrian skydiver named Felix Baumgartner stepped out of a helium balloon that was 24 miles high. He was literally in the stratosphere as he dropped into the black sky.
Baumgartner would free fall for 4 minutes and 19 seconds, during which he achieved a velocity of over 800 miles per hour. He broke the sound barrier and for about 13 seconds he tumbled into a disastrous flat spin that could’ve been fatal. Fortunately, Baumgartner regained control and deployed his parachute about 5,000 feet above the New Mexico desert.
The landing was surprisingly smooth as Baumgartner took a few steps, then dropped to one knee while pumping his fists to the sky.
He was the first human to go supersonic without mechanical propulsion.
