![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() When I began to feel concerned that my vision could become limited, I discussed the options with the team at mission control. But we knew that jumping and coming down using my skydiving skills was the best, safest option. I would have had to descend in the capsule. How close were you to aborting and why didn’t you?įB: “Well, it was part of our established protocol that if for any reason I couldn’t see, I would not jump. You had the faceplate problem, but kept going. JC: When Joe Kittinger jumped in 1960, he had the glove-inflation problem, but kept going. Not having any wind resistance to work against is a strange feeling for a skydiver! And, of course, I went into a spin - which we expected - but it was even harder to control than I had imagined.” In the final jump on October 14th, the descent through extremely thin air was much longer. And they gave me a taste of what it was going to be like freefalling through a near vacuum in a pressure suit. Not only did they allow us to fine-tune the equipment, but they also enabled us to refine our procedures. What did those teach you and how did the big jump differ?įelix Baumgartner: “Those two test jumps - from 71,581 feet and 97,145 feet - were important rehearsals for what was ahead. Jim Clash: You did training jumps before the big one. For more, readers can watch a fascinating just-released documentary, Mission to the Edge of Space: The Inside Story Behind Red Bull Stratos, at /redbullstratos. We reconnected this month, and what follows is Baumgartner’s take on life a year after his jump. I originally met the daredevil a few years back when Stratos was in its early stages. In addition to past stunts - including a 1999 BASE jump from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - he had survived two high-altitude training jumps in 2012. The Austrian, now 44, had trained extensively for his big day. The only record Baumgartner didn’t get was longest freefall Kittinger’s lasted 4:38, while Baumgartner’s came up just 16 seconds shy, at 4:22. The Man Who Fell From Space: Felix Baumgartner 7īy completing the jump, Baumgartner broke three world records - highest parachute jump (previous record: 102,800 feet, Joseph Kittinger, 1960) fastest freefall (previous record: 614 mph) and highest manned balloon ride (previous record: 113,740 feet). After more than four minutes of freefall (and slowing by friction in the lower troposphere), he deployed his parachute and coasted safely to earth. In less than a minute in the near vacuum of the stratosphere, his body accelerated to 833.9 mph (Mach 1.24), breaking the sound barrier. The Man Who Fell From Space: Felix Baumgartner 6 On 14 October 2012, Felix Baumgartner – outfitted in a special pressure suit – rode a helium balloon to 128,100 feet above sea level and jumped from his Red Bull Stratos capsule gondola over Roswell, N.M. ![]() He has also purchased a ticket from Virgin Galactic Airways to fly into suborbital space. In reporting for Forbes and other publications over the last two decades, he has skied to the South Pole driven the Bugatti Veyron at its top speed of 253 mph flown in a MiG-25 at Mach 2.6 to the edge of space visited the North Pole twice and climbed the Matterhorn, 23,000-foot Aconcagua and virgin peaks in Antarctica and Greenland. The term is a throwback to a time when character counted - when men routinely risked their lives not to get rich, bloviate or self-aggrandize, but for their country, science, exploration and the joy of pure competition.Ĭlash, a fellow and director at The Explorers Club, is a seasoned adventurer himself. What exactly is the right stuff? Other than the name of a famous movie about the space race, it’s a state of mind. In this interview series by Jim Clash called “The Right Stuff,” we share nuggets of wisdom from great men who’ve taken big risks in life – boxers, balloonists, test pilots, astronauts, mountain climbers, ocean divers, scientists, Olympians, race car drivers – and come out the better for it. Sage advice can be gleaned indirectly from the words of men who’ve done amazing things. ![]()
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