Red Bull Stratos: Mission Accomplished

As the Red Bull press release states, "Mission Accomplished." Nearly 7.3 milion people were watching Sunday as Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner reattempted and nailed the Red Bull Stratos extreme skyjump, free falling more than 128,000 feet to Earth at 1,342.8 kilometers per hour. He broke the sound barrier but no bones, and garnered a congratulatory tweet from NASA. Below, watch Red Bull backgrounder on its record-breaking, and latest, extreme sports stunt.

"After flying to an altitude of 39,045 meters (128,100 feet) in a helium-filled balloon, Felix Baumgartner completed a record breaking jump for the ages from the edge of space, exactly 65 years after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier flying in an experimental rocket-powered airplane. Felix reached a maximum of speed of 1,342.8 km/h through the near vacuum of the stratosphere before being slowed by the atmosphere later during his 4:20 minute long freefall. The 43-year-old Austrian skydiving expert also broke two other world records (highest freefall, highest manned balloon flight), leaving the one for the longest freefall to project mentor Col. Joe Kittinger."

Well done Felix & the Red Bull Stratos team!!!

Red Bull Stratos - Live Video Feed

I have blogged about the test jump before, but if you want to watch something truly spectacular, tune into the Red Bull Stratos website to see the launch of the Red Bull Stratos capsule that will send the crazy Felix Baumgartner 120,000 feet into the Stratosphere where he will make a free-fall jump rushing toward earth at supersonic speeds before parachuting to the ground. His attempt to dare atmospheric limits holds the potential to provide valuable medical & scientific research data for future pioneers.

A retired United States Air Force Colonel, Joseph Kittinger, holds three of the records Felix will strive to break.  Joe's record jump from 102,800 ft in 1960 was during a time when no one knew if a human could survive a jump from the edge of space. Joe was a Captain in the U.S. Air Force & had already taken a balloon to 97,000 feet in Project ManHigh & survived a drogue mishap during a jump from 76,400 feet in Excelsior I. The Excelsior III mission was his 33rd parachute jump.

Although researching extremes was part of the program's goals, setting records wasn't the mission's purpose. Joe ascended in helium balloon launched from the back of a truck. He wore a pressurized suit on the way up in an open, unpressurized gondola. Scientific data captured from Joe's jump was shared with U.S. research personnel for development of the space program. Today Felix & his specialized team hope to take what was learned from Joe's jumps more than 50 years ago & press forward to test the edge of the human envelope.

Can't wait, gonna be EPIC!!!