London: Austrian national Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from a height of 39 km, became the first skydiver to record the highest ever freefall and also the first human to go faster than the speed of sound.
During his skydive from a special pressurised capsule carried by a helium balloon, the 43-year-old Baumgartner reached a maximum velocity of 1,342 km per hour, BBC reported.
The jump from above New Mexico took just under 10 minutes. The last few thousand feet were negotiated by parachute.
After landing, the skydiver fell to his knees and raised his fists in triumph.
“Let me tell you, when I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble. You don’t think about breaking records anymore, you don’t think about gaining scientific data, the only thing that you want is to come back alive,” BBC quoted Baumgartner as saying.
Baumgartner came into trouble early into the dive. He was supposed to get himself into a delta position – head down, arms swept back – as soon as possible after leaving his capsule. But he tumbled over and over. Eventually, he was able to use his great experience, from more than 2,500 career dives, to correct his fall and get into a stable configuration.
The attempt was almost called off, after it was found that a heater for his visor was not working, and the visor fogged up as he exhaled.
Baumgartner’s team built a special pressurised capsule to protect him on the way up, and for his descent he wore a full pressure suit made by the same company that prepares the flight suits of astronauts.
“It was really a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. It was an incredible up and down today, just like it’s been with the whole project,” said Baumgartner, recounting his experience after the jump. (IANS)