He hit approximately 834 mph and broke the sound barrier!
No plane and no safety net.
24 Miles, 4 Minutes and 834 M.P.H., All in One Jump
By John Tierney - NY Times
ROSWELL, N.M. — A man fell to Earth from more than 24 miles high Sunday, becoming the first human to break the sound barrier under his own power — with some help from gravity.
The man, Felix Baumgartner,
an Austrian daredevil, made the highest and fastest jump in history
after ascending by a helium balloon to an altitude of 128,100 feet. As
millions around the world experienced the vertiginous view from his capsule’s camera,
which showed a round blue world surrounded by the black of space, he
stepped off into the void and plummeted for more than four minutes,
reaching a maximum speed measured at 833.9 miles per hour, or Mach 1.24.
He broke altitude and speed records set half a century ago by Joe
Kittinger, now 84, a retired Air Force colonel whose reassuring voice
from mission control guided Mr. Baumgartner through tense moments.
Engineers considered aborting the mission when Mr. Baumgartner’s
faceplate began fogging during the ascent, but he insisted on proceeding
and made plans for doing the jump blind.
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