World Records Broke Today: Highest, Fastest Freefall, Highest Manned Balloon Flight (+video)
By Megan Michelson. Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner completed a record-breaking freefall from space Sunday morning near Roswell, N.M.
He reached speeds of more than 600 mph during the 128,000-foot fall to earth.
Baumgartner broke the record for both the highest jump and the fastest jump in a freefall. On the ascent, he also broke the record for the highest manned balloon flight.
“The whole world is watching,” Baumgartner said before he lept. “I wish you could see what I could see.”
The mission, called Red Bull Stratos and sponsored by the energy drink company, was aborted last Tuesday after the jump’s weather experts determined the winds were too high. He needed perfectly windless conditions and clear skies in order to do the jump safely. Read more from this story HERE.
Here’s the video of the freefall from the edge of space to the ground:
