Felix Baumgartner

Felix Baumgartner (April 20, 1969 – July 17, 2025) was an Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper. He was widely known for jumping to Earth from a helium balloon from the stratosphere on October 14, 2012 and landing in New Mexico, United States, as part of the Red Bull Stratos project. By doing so, he set world records for skydiving an estimated 39 km (24 mi), reaching an estimated top speed of 1,357.64 km/h (843.6 mph), or Mach 1.25. He became the first person to break the sound barrier relative to the surface without vehicular power on his descent. He broke skydiving records for exit altitude (38,969.3 metres), vertical freefall distance without a drogue parachute, and vertical speed without a drogue. Although his name is still attached to the two last records, his exit altitude record was broken two years later, when on 24 October 2014, Alan Eustace jumped from 135,890 feet (41.42 km; 25.74 mi) with a drogue.