Felix Baumgartner has become the first skydiver to break the sound barrier, after completing a record-breaking 128,000-feet jump from the edge of space. That’s right, during his descent, daredevil Baumgartner reached speeds of up to 706.49MPH 833MPH (confirmed) before slowing down and deploying his parachute. This is what Felix has to say: “I could feel myself break the speed of sound. I could feel the air building up and then I hit it.” Continue reading for the video and more information.

“Couldn’t have done it any better myself,” said Baumgartner’s mentor, Colonel Joe Kittinger, who held the previous record for highest altitude free-fall at 19.5 miles. The incredible free-fall, just a few minutes long, brought a quick end to Baumgartner’s over two-hour ascent in a pressurized capsule lifted 128,000 feet above Earth by a 55-story-tall ultra-thin helium balloon.

Fittingly, Baumgartner’s leap coincides with the 65th anniversary of the day U.S. test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first man to officially go faster than the speed of sound aboard an airplane. For his daring dive, Baumgartner wore a high-tech, pressurized spacesuit, designed to protect him from the shock waves of breaking the sound barrier, Dr. Jonathan Clark, Baumgartner’s medical director told the AP.

[Sources 1 | 2]

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