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Austrian Skydiver Set To Break Skydiving World Record On October 8 (Video)
On August 16, 1960, a man named Joseph Kittinger set the current world record for highest parachute jump and fastest human free-fall through the atmosphere when he jumped from the basket of a helium balloon at 102,800 feet and reached a speed of 614 mph.
His excuse? He was a Captain in the United States Air Force doing experiments on high-altitude bailouts.
When Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner attempts to break these records on October 8, he’ll have no such official excuse. He just wants to be awesome.
Baumgartner plans to jump from an insane 121,000 feet above the earth, or 23 miles. He’s teamed up with a bunch of scientists and the good folks over at Red Bull (who are sponsoring the record-breaking attempt) to design a special weather balloon to take him to the edge of space, and a special suit that will help him withstand the extremities of the stunt—namely, the lack of oxygen, extreme temperature, and insane g-forces.
If all goes according to plan, Baumgartner will become the first supersonic human being. That means they expect him to exceed a speed of 760 mph (which is the speed of sound).
Sounds fun. Good luck, buddy.