Baumgartner celebrates one-year anniversary of record jump
This time last year, the world watched in awe as daredevil Felix Baumgartner became the first human to break through the sound barrier with his own body, freefalling from the edge of space back to Earth.
He wore only a spacesuit and carried 10 minutes worth of oxygen as he jumped from a capsule some 24 miles above Earth. In just 50 seconds, he was falling at 843.6 miles per hour, a speed faster than even he anticipated.
After the jump, the U.N. Secretary General called Baumgartner the "most courageous man in the world."
Viewers were privy to a live stream of the event, but there was much more going on behind the scenes.
Now, Red Bull Stratos is sharing those stories in a new documentary. "Mission to the Edge of Space: The Inside Story of Red Bulls Stratos" takes fans through the five-year planning process. It also offers the first detailed account of technical issues the crew faced on launch day, including what happened with Baumgartner's heated faceplate.
Baumgartner and his Red Bulls Stratos Team were the first to watch the film, in an exclusive premier as they reunited over the weekend in Salzburg, Austria.
The screening capped off the anniversary celebration during which Baumgartner took the controls of a sightseeing helicopter, showing his mates the Alpine scenery. The group also checked out the Red Bulls Stratos capsule, which is on exhibition at the Hangar-7 museum.
During the reunion, the crewmembers discussed the impact the mission has had on their careers and on those who tuned in.
"Now major aerospace companies come to us for projects they can't accomplish in a short time frame -- because they now know we can," technical director Art Thompson said in a press release. "One of the biggest satisfactions for me though is what it did for education, because it inspired millions of kids to start thinking about engineering in aerospace, thinking about other fields to apply to the sciences. That was one of the greatest paybacks for us."
After viewing the film, crew member and aerospace pioneer Joe Kittinger gave his stamp of approval, saying, "I think it shows the world the true emotions of the project -- the frustration, the drama, the fun and, most of all, the people."
