Advertisement
BBC TopGear
BBC TopGear
Subscribe to Top Gear newsletter
Sign up now for more news, reviews and exclusives from Top Gear.
Subscribe
News

Watch a supersonic man jump from space… again!

Published: 15 Oct 2012

Last week we tried to show you a man jump from space. But it was too windy. Today, you can watch a man jump from space. And it's mental.

Sunday evening UK time, Austrian sky diving ace and Buzz Lightyear enthusiast, Felix Baumgartner, sat in his helium-filled balloon for over two and a half hours as it ascended up to a height of 39,045 meters (128,100 feet). When it got there, he did some pre-flight checks, opened the door, stood on the edge of the capsule... and jumped.

In a 4.20 minute free fall - and exactly 65 years after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier flying in an experimental rocket-powered airplane - Felix did the same in his pressurised suit. Baumgartner topped out at a maximum of speed of 1,342.8 km/h (833mph) before the atmosphere put the brakes on him and he parachuted back to terra firma.

When he landed on the ground, he was officially a multiple recorder breaker, now holding the record for highest altitude manned balloon flight, the highest altitude skydive and the world's first supersonic skydiver. Oh, and he's a new Top Gear hero to boot.

We're so happy here in the TG office that we've decided to make a Baumgartner Beatz Vol 1 mixtape. The playlist currently consists of Van Halen - Jump, Queen - Under Pressure and Oasis - Supersonic. What else should we put on it dot commers?

Advertisement - Page continues below
Advertisement - Page continues below

Top Gear
Newsletter

Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.

More from Top Gear

Loading
See more on News

Subscribe to the Top Gear Newsletter

Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, you agree to receive news, promotions and offers by email from Top Gear and BBC Studios. Your information will be used in accordance with our privacy policy.

BBC TopGear

Try BBC Top Gear Magazine

subscribe