Nova Zhang
Austrian skydiver, extreme sportsman, and BASE jumper Felix Baumgartner became the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall without vehicular power on 14 October 2012. Baumgartner, also known as Fearless Felix, jumped from a helium balloon 39 kilometres (24 miles) above the Earth, landing in New Mexico, USA. Baumgartner reached a speed of 1,357.6 km/h (843.6 mph), or Mach 1.25, during his record-breaking descent.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Felix Baumgartner |
| Date | 14 October 2012 |
| Location | Roswell, New Mexico, USA |
| Jump Height | 38,969.4 metres (127,852 ft) or 39 kilometres (24 miles) |
| Freefall Time | 4 minutes and 19 seconds |
| Top Speed | 1,357.6 km/h (843.6 mph) or 833 mph |
| Mach Speed | 1.24 or 1.25 |
| World Records Broken | 8 |
| Suit | Pressurized suit |
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What You'll Learn
Felix Baumgartner's supersonic skydive
On 14 October 2012, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner became the first person to break the sound barrier outside a vehicle. During his descent, Baumgartner reached a top speed of 1,357.6 km/h (843.6 mph), or Mach 1.25. He was in free fall for 4 minutes and 19 seconds, breaking eight world records in three hours.
Baumgartner's jump was performed 65 years to the day after Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier over the Mojave Desert. While Yeager's accomplishment was witnessed by only a few, Baumgartner's feat was viewed in real time by millions via YouTube and other live streaming services.
Baumgartner's record-breaking jump was the culmination of five years of planning and a $20 million (£12.45 million) investment by Red Bull. The project, called Red Bull Stratos, sought to push the boundaries of human knowledge about the way the body copes with extreme conditions near space.
Baumgartner wore a pressurised suit and jumped from a capsule hoisted more than 24 miles (39 kilometres) above Earth by a giant helium balloon over New Mexico. At one point, he went into a flat spin while still supersonic, spinning for 13 seconds.
After the jump, Baumgartner said that travelling faster than sound is "hard to describe because you don't feel it." He also reflected on the humbling nature of the experience, saying, "When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about breaking records anymore, you do not think of gaining scientific data."
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Breaking the sound barrier without vehicular power
On 14 October 2012, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped to Earth from a helium balloon in the stratosphere, landing in New Mexico, USA. 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. Baumgartner became the first person to break the sound barrier relative to the surface without vehicular power on his descent.
Baumgartner's jump was witnessed by eight million people on YouTube in real-time. It took five years of scrupulous planning and $20 million to make history. Baumgartner's mission was to break Joseph Kittinger's record for the highest freefall parachute jump. Kittinger aided Baumgartner throughout the mission and was his main point of contact during the jump.
One of the most critical factors for the jump was Baumgartner's pressure suit. If it failed, he would almost certainly have died. Baumgartner hated the restrictive suit, and a psychologist was brought in to help him come to terms with wearing it. Baumgartner's jump was a huge leap forward in the world's knowledge about how the body copes with extreme conditions near space.
Breaking the sound barrier refers to the speed at which sound travels. As a plane approaches the speed of sound, it faces an invisible pressure barrier set up by the sound waves ahead of it. When a plane exceeds the speed of sound, it is said to be supersonic. The speed of sound is named for Ernst Mach (1838-1916), an Austrian physicist who studied supersonic motion. Mach realised that when a bullet or shell moved faster than the speed of sound, the air in front of it was compressed, causing a distinct "boom" separate from the explosion.
Before Baumgartner, the first man to break the sound barrier was Chuck Yeager, a famous test pilot. On 14 October 1947, Yeager flew a small, almost rocket-type plane called the Bell X-1, which was dropped from a large B-29. Yeager fired the X-1 engine and accelerated past the sound barrier, achieving a speed of Mach 1.06 (700 miles per hour) at 43,000 feet.
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The Red Bull Stratos project
Baumgartner had been dreaming about flying and skydiving since he was a child. Before the Red Bull Stratos project, he had already claimed several world records, including the highest parachute jump from a building when he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1999, and the first person to skydive across the English Channel using a specially made carbon fiber wing in 2003.
The main event of the Red Bull Stratos project took place on 14 October 2012. Baumgartner flew approximately 39 kilometres (24 miles) into the stratosphere over New Mexico, United States, in a helium balloon. He then free fell in a pressure suit and parachuted to Earth. The total jump, from leaving the capsule to landing on the ground, lasted approximately ten minutes. During his descent, Baumgartner reached a top speed of 1,357.6 kilometres per hour (843.6 miles per hour), breaking the sound barrier and setting a new world record for the fastest speed of free fall. He also broke the records for the highest freefall parachute jump and the vertical speed without a drogue.
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Baumgartner's record-breaking jump
On 14 October 2012, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner completed a record-breaking jump from the stratosphere, becoming the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall. Baumgartner, known as "Fearless Felix", had a reputation as one of the boldest figures in extreme sports.
The jump was part of the $20-million Red Bull Stratos project, which saw Baumgartner ascend 38,969.4 metres (approximately 24 miles or 39 kilometres) above Earth in a capsule hoisted by a giant helium balloon. He then jumped from the capsule, reaching a top speed of 1,357.6 km/h (843.6 mph) during his four-minute, 19-second descent. This speed was equivalent to 1.25 times the speed of sound, or Mach 1.25. Baumgartner thus broke Joseph Kittinger's 52-year-old record for the highest freefall parachute jump and became the first human to break the sound barrier outside a vehicle.
The record-breaking jump was live-streamed to millions worldwide on YouTube and other platforms, and Baumgartner earned three Guinness World Records, including the highest freefall and the fastest speed in freefall. In total, he broke eight world records in just three hours.
Baumgartner described his experience, saying that travelling faster than sound is "hard to describe because you don't feel it". He also reflected on the humility that came with standing "on top of the world", where breaking records and gaining scientific data no longer felt important.
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The first person to break the sound barrier in freefall
On 14 October 2012, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner became the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall. He jumped from a height of 38,969.4 metres (approximately 39 kilometres or 24 miles), breaking eight world records in three hours. Baumgartner's jump was part of the $20-million Red Bull Stratos project, which aimed to expand humanity's understanding of how the body copes with extreme conditions near space.
During his descent, Baumgartner reached a top speed of 1,357.6 km/h (843.6 mph), equivalent to 1.25 times the speed of sound. He was in freefall for four minutes and 19 seconds, breaking the previous record set by his mentor, Joseph Kittinger, in 1960. Baumgartner's jump was live-streamed to millions of viewers worldwide, in contrast to Chuck Yeager, who first broke the sound barrier in an aircraft in 1947, an achievement witnessed by only a few.
Baumgartner's achievement was the result of years of meticulous planning and preparation. He wore a pressurised suit designed to protect him from the extreme conditions he would encounter during his descent. The suit was so restrictive that Baumgartner needed the help of a psychologist to come to terms with wearing it. Despite the challenges, Baumgartner successfully pushed the boundaries of human capability, earning himself a reputation as one of the boldest figures in extreme sports.
Sadly, Baumgartner passed away in a paragliding accident in Italy in July 2025, at the age of 56. He will be remembered as a pioneer who challenged the limits of human potential and expanded our understanding of the world.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, on 14 October 2012, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner became the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall.
Felix Baumgartner broke the sound barrier by jumping from a helium balloon 39 kilometres (24 miles) above the Earth. He wore a pressurised suit and reached a speed of 843.6 mph (Mach 1.25) during his descent.
Felix Baumgartner broke eight world records in three hours, including the highest freefall parachute jump (38,969.4 m / 127,852 ft) and the fastest speed in freefall (1,357.6 km/h / 843.6 mph). He also became the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall.
The sound barrier refers to the speed at which an object or person travels faster than the speed of sound. The speed of sound is 1,236 km/h (768 mph).
Felix Baumgartner became a global sensation and earned three Guinness World Records. He was known for his fearless stunts and often tested the boundaries of human capability. Unfortunately, he passed away in a paragliding crash in Italy on 18 July 2025.
