Daredevil Skydiver Attempts to Break the Speed of Sound With His Body

Daredevil Skydiver Attempts to Break the Speed of Sound With His Body

Daredevil Skydiver Attempts to Break the Speed of Sound With His Body, Skydiving daredevil plunges 13 miles, Adventurer Felix Baumgartner reaches a speed of 364 mph but is only practicing for his ultimate goal. Felix Baumgartner wants to be known as a world-record breaker, but not just any record. Baumgartner is a skydiving daredevil who wants to break the speed of sound with his body.

Thursday, Baumgartner, nicknamed "Fearless Felix," lifted off in a test run from Roswell, New Mexico, carried by a 100-foot helium balloon. The Austrian native wore a pressurized suit and was propelled inside a capsule, also pressurized, more than 13 miles up into the stratosphere. That's really high, but what Baumgartner did next is what has people talking. He jumped.

Fearless Felix was in free fall for 3 minutes and 43 seconds, reaching speeds of up to 364.4 miles per hour. He then safely parachuted to the ground. A mini mission control, modeled after NASA's, monitored his practice run from the ground level.

Baumgartner plans one more practice run, but this summer, as part of the Red Bull Stratos Project, he wants to beat the record of 19.5 miles set by Air Force Capt. Joe Kittinger in 1960. Baumgartner will be jumping from 23 miles up. If he is successful, he will indeed break the speed of sound with his body.

Baumgartner is well-known for his death-defying stunts. He has more than 2,500 jumps from planes, helicopters, and some of the world's highest skyscrapers and landmarks.

via: yahoo