One giant leap for a skydiver

On October 14, 2012 - the 65th anniversary of test pilot Chuck Yeager's successful attempt to become the first man to officially break the sound barrier aboard an airplane - extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner attempted to become the first human to break the sound barrier during a high-altitude free-fall parachute jump.

Baumgartner, known as "Fearless Felix," boards his pressurized capsule, to be carried by a 55-story ultra-thin helium balloon from the launch pad in Roswell, N.M.

Inflating the balloon at Roswell, N.M. Attempts to launch earlier in the month were scuttled by high-altitude winds.

A view of Felix Baumgartner boarding the capsule.

Felix Baumgartner aboard the capsule.

His team included Joe Kittinger, who first attempted to break the sound barrier from 19.5 miles up in 1960, reaching speed of 614 mph. With Kittinger inside mission control Sunday, the two men could be heard going over technical details as the launch began.

The 3,000-lb. capsule is prepared for lift-off.

A capsule carrying Felix Baumgartner rose from the desert of New Mexico early Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, beginning a three-hour ascent into the stratosphere.

The capsule and attached helium balloon carrying Felix Baumgartner lifts off as he attempts to break the speed of sound with his own body by jumping from a space capsule Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, in Roswell, N.M. If all goes well and he survives the jump, NASA could certify a new generation of spacesuits for protecting astronauts and provide an escape option from spacecraft at 120,000 feet.

Cheers erupted from mission organizers as the capsule rose high above the New Mexico desert.

Felix Baumgartner's mother Ava Baumgartner, middle, watches with other family members and friends as his capsule lifts off as he attempts to break the speed of sound with his own body by jumping from a space capsule lifted by a helium balloon, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, in Roswell, N.M.

A view from Felix Baumgartner's capsule as it rises into the stratosphere, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012.

Felix Baumgartner inside his capsule. At his insistence, some 30 cameras recorded the event. While it had been pegged as a live broadcast streamed online, it was actually under a 20-second delay.

An hour into the flight, Baumgartner had ascended more than 63,000 feet and had gone through a trial run of the jump sequence that will send him plummeting toward Earth. Ballast was dropped to speed up the ascent.

Kittinger told him, "Everything is in the green. Doing great."

This attempt marked the end of a five-year road for Baumgartner, a record-setting high-altitude jumper. He already made two preparation jumps in the area - one in March from 15 miles high and one in July from 18 miles high. It will also be the end of his extreme altitude jumping career; he has promised this will be his final jump.

Jumping from more than three times the height of the average cruising altitude for jetliners, Baumgartner's expected to hit a speed of 690 mph or more before he activates his parachute at 9,500 feet above sea level, or about 5,000 feet above the ground in southeastern New Mexico. The total jump would take about 10 minutes.

The view form Earth's stratosphere.

Felix Baumgartner about to jump from his capsule about 24 miles above the Earth Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012.

Felix Baumgartner jumps from his capsule about 24 miles above the Earth Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012.

Baumgartner broke the sound barrier, with preliminary figures showing he reached a maximum speed of 833.9 mph, or Mach 1.24.

Baumgartner activated his parachute at 9,500 feet above sea level, or about 5,000 feet above the ground in southeastern New Mexico.

With parachute deployed, Felix Baumgartner descended to the desert of New Mexico.

Felix Baumgartner completing his 24-mile jump.

Felix Baumgartner landed safely on Earth after a 24-mile jump from the stratosphere in a dramatic, daring feat that also marked the world's first supersonic skydive. Baumgartner came down in the eastern New Mexico desert minutes after jumping from his capsule 128,000 feet, or 24 miles, above Earth.

By CBSNews.com senior editor David Morgan; The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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