Newly released footage is providing the best view yet of daredevil Felix Baumgartner’s death-defying 23-mile freefall. The Austrian stuntman set multiple world records in October of 2012 in a jump from 128,100 feet which broke the sound barrier.
In the video released by GoPro, you can hear the conversation Baumgartner had before stepping off of the platform high above the Earth. “There it is. There’s the world out there.” Just before the jump, he continues, “I wish you could see what I see. Sometimes you have to be up really high to understand how small you are.”
After falling from view, the video switches to GoPro cameras mounted on Baumgartner’s suit. Just past the video’s five minute mark, he begins to lose control and spin — and word of caution, you may want to look away or step back from your screen as you watch this part of Baumgartner’s descent. As he continues to spin, Baumgartner hits Mach 1, which is an astonishing 761 mph, breaking the sound barrier. Baumgartner attempts to talk to mission control during this part of the fall, but his crew back on the ground has trouble understanding him.
Finally Baumgartner manages to say, “I have been in a violent spin for a long time. Feels like I have to pass out.” Amazingly, Baumgartner stablizes himself as the mission control crew cheers. Two minutes into the jump he tells the crew, “I’m hauling ass” — an understatement, to be sure. Four minutes into his freefall, Baumgartner pulls his parachute and enjoys a slower fall for the final 8,000 feet of his historic journey. In a final moment of triumph, he ends his incredible leap back to Earth by sticking the landing.
Nick Ramsey
Nick Ramsey is a senior producer with MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.” Recommended
