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*[http://www.wc-news.com/felix-baumgartner-ready-to-break-sound-barrier-skydiving/ WC News Story – Felix Baumgartner]
*[http://www.wc-news.com/felix-baumgartner-ready-to-break-sound-barrier-skydiving/ WC News Story – Felix Baumgartner]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-PsviSStA8 Video (03:14) – Felix Jump – Christ Statue – Rio de Janeiro – 14 July 2010.]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-PsviSStA8 Video (03:14) – Felix Jump – Christ Statue – Rio de Janeiro – 14 July 2010.]
*[http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/nov/03/felix-baumgartner-space-jump-interview ''I hope I can make fear cool''], The Guardian, Saturday, 3 November 2012, Donald McRae
*[http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/nov/03/felix-baumgartner-space-jump-interview I hope I can make fear cool], The Guardian, Saturday, 3 November 2012, Donald McRae
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0XWakvVTS4&feature=share Space Dive - Red Bull Stratos Documentary BBC], (2012),
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
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| NAME = Baumgartner, Felix
| NAME = Baumgartner, Felix

Revision as of 00:43, 14 November 2012

Felix Baumgartner
File:Felix Baumgartner in free fall, by Luke Aikins (Red Bull Stratos project, Red Bull Content Pool.jpg
Felix Baumgartner
Nickname(s)B.A.S.E. 502
Fearless Felix
Born (1969-04-20) 20 April 1969 (age 55)
Salzburg, Austria

Felix Baumgartner (German: [felɪks baʊmgaːɐtnəʁ]; born 20 April 1969 in Salzburg, Austria) is an Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper.[3] He set the world record for skydiving an estimated 39 kilometres (24 mi), reaching an estimated speed of 1,342 kilometres per hour (834 mph), or Mach 1.24, on 14 October 2012, and became the first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power on his descent.[4][5] He is also renowned for the particularly dangerous nature of the stunts he has performed during his career. Baumgartner spent time in the Austrian military where he practised parachute jumping, including training to land on small target zones.

Baumgartner's most recent project was Red Bull Stratos, in which he jumped to Earth from a helium balloon in the stratosphere on 14 October 2012. As part of this project, he set the altitude record for a manned balloon flight,[6] parachute jump from the highest altitude, and greatest free fall velocity.[7][8][9]

Biography

Baumgartner was born on 20 April 1969 in Salzburg, Austria.[10] When he was a little boy, he dreamed about flying and skydiving.[11]In 1999 he claimed the world record for the highest parachute jump from a building when he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[12] On 25 July 2003, Baumgartner became the first person to skydive across the English Channel using a specially made carbon fiber wing.[3][13] Alban Geissler, who developed the SKYRAY carbon fiber wing with Christoph Aarns, suggested after Baumgartner's jump that the wing he used was a copy of two prototype SKYRAY wings sold to Red Bull (Baumgartner's sponsor) two years earlier.[14]

Baumgartner also set the world record for the lowest BASE jump ever, when he jumped 95 feet (29 m) from the hand of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.[15] This jump also stirred controversy among BASE jumpers who pointed out that Baumgartner cited the height of the statue as the height of the jump even though he landed on a slope below the statue's feet, and that other BASE jumpers had previously jumped from the statue but avoided publicity.[16]

He became the first person to BASE jump from the completed Millau Viaduct in France on 27 June 2004[17] and the first person to skydive onto, then BASE jump from, the Turning Torso building in Malmö, Sweden on 18 August 2006.[18] On 12 December 2007 he became the first person to jump from the 91st floor observation deck of the then-tallest completed building in the world, Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan.[19]

Red Bull Stratos

Main article: Red Bull Stratos
At 12:08 MDT and at an altitude of 39 kilometres (24 mi), Baumgartner jumped from the capsule.

In January 2010, it was reported that Baumgartner was working with a team of scientists and sponsor Red Bull to attempt the highest sky-dive on record.[20]

Test jumps

On 15 March 2012 Baumgartner completed the first of two test jumps from 71,581 feet (21,818 m). During the jump he spent approximately three minutes and 43 seconds in free fall, reaching speeds of more than 360 miles per hour (580 km/h), before opening his parachute. In total, the jump lasted approximately eight minutes and eight seconds and Baumgartner became only the third person to safely parachute from a height of over 13.5 miles (21.7 km).[21][22]

On 25 July 2012, Baumgartner completed the second of two planned test jumps from 96,640 feet (29,460 m). It took Baumgartner about 90 minutes to reach the target altitude and his free fall was estimated to have lasted three minutes and 48 seconds before his parachutes were deployed.[23]

Main jump

The launch was originally scheduled for 9 October 2012, but was aborted due to adverse weather conditions. Launch was rescheduled and the mission instead took place on 14 October 2012 when Baumgartner landed in eastern New Mexico after jumping from a world record 39,045 metres (128,100 ft) or just over 39 kilometres (24 mi).[24][25] On the basis of provisional data, Baumgartner also set the record for the highest manned balloon flight (at the same height) and fastest speed of free fall at 1,342 kilometres per hour (834 mph) making him the first human to break the sound barrier outside of a vehicle.[5][26][27] Baumgartner was in free fall for 4 minutes and 19 seconds, 17 seconds short of mentor Joseph Kittinger's 1960 jump.[5]

Training for the jump

Baumgartner initially struggled with claustrophobia after spending time in the pressurized suit required for the jump, but overcame it with help from a sports psychologist and other specialists.[24][28][29]

Personal life

Baumgartner is engaged to Nicole Öttl, a model and former beauty queen (Miss Lower Austria 2006).[30] His mother is Eva.[31][32][nb 1]

When Baumgartner was asked in an interview with the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung whether a political career was an option for his future life, Baumgartner abnegated, stating that the "example of Arnold Schwarzenegger" showed, that "you can't move anything in a democracy" and that he would opt for a "moderate dictatorship [...] led by experienced personalities coming from the private (sector of the) economy".[33][34][35]

On 6 November 2012 Baumgartner was convicted of battery and was fined €1500 after punching a Greek truck driver in the face.[36][37]

See also

  • Nick Piantanida
  • Pyotr Dolgov, died in 1962 carrying out a high altitude jump.
  • Eugene Andreyev, the former record holder for the longest-distance free fall jump.
  • Michel Fournier, who has been working on a 25-mile (40 km) jump for several years.
  • Joseph Kittinger, set records for highest balloon ascent and highest parachute jump. Served as adviser and capsule communicator to Felix Baumgartner.
  • Yves Rossy, the first man to cross the English Channel using a jet-powered wing.
  • Steve Truglia, English stuntman who was planning a similar jump.
  • Project Manhigh, pre-NASA military project that took men in balloons to the middle layers of Earth's stratosphere. Participants set altitude and parachute jump records.
  • Chuck Yeager, first pilot to travel faster than sound (1947).
  • Neil Armstrong, American astronaut who became the first person to walk on the moon in 1969.

References

  1. ^ http://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Jewish_surnames
  2. ^ http://www.themodernnovel.com/indian/desai/bombay.htm
  3. ^ a b Abrams, Michael (2006). Birdmen, Batmen, and Skyflyers: Wingsuits and the Pioneers Who Flew in Them, Fell in Them, and Perfected Them. New York: Harmony Books. pp. 247–251. ISBN 978-1-4000-5491-6.
  4. ^ Amos, Jonathan (14 October 2012). "Skydiver Felix Baumgartner lands highest ever jump". BBC. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Irvine, Chris (14 October 2012). "Felix Baumgartner: Daredevil in record-breaking free fall attempt: live". Telegraph. Retrieved 14 October 2012. Cite error: The named reference "Irvine 2012" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ Tierney, John. "Daredevil Prepares to Jump Nearly 25 Miles". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Official statement on closing of legal case" (Press release). Red Bull Stratos. 30 June 2011.
  8. ^ Gray, Richard (5 February 2012). "Sky diver to break sound barrier with jump from edge of space". The Daily Telegraph.
  9. ^ Henderson, Barney; Irvine, Chris (9 October 2012). "Skydiver Felix Baumgartner attempts to break sound barrier: latest". Telegraph. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  10. ^ "Felix Baumgartner". redbull.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  11. ^ The picture that proves Felix Baumgartner always dreamed of reaching for the skies
  12. ^ "Archive: 1999". felixbaumgartner.com. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  13. ^ "Birdman Flies Atair Parachutes Across English Channel". Atair Aerospace, Inc. 21 November 2003. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2012. This page gives the date of Baumgartner's jump as 31 July 2003.
  14. ^ Abrams, p. 251.
  15. ^ Dittrich, Luke (14 July 2010). "The Man Who Would Fall to Earth". Esquire. p. 4. Retrieved 20 October 2012. he leapt from the outstretched hand of O Cristo Redentor, the ninety-eight-foot-tall statue that looms over Rio de Janeiro... the final product was... a world record — lowest BASE jump ever {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Abrams, p. 249.
  17. ^ Millau Viaduct
  18. ^ "Pr-jippo kan sluta med åtal". 18 August 2006. Retrieved 5 December 2010. Template:Sv icon
  19. ^ "Extreme Felix Baumgartner jumping off Taipei 101". YouTube. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  20. ^ Choi, Charles Q (22 January 2010). "'Space diver' to attempt first supersonic freefall". New Scientist. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  21. ^ Dunn, Marcia (15 March 2012). "Skydiver jumps 13.6 miles on path to world's highest jump". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  22. ^ "Felix Baumgartner's jump from space's edge watched by millions". The Associated Press. 14 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  23. ^ Dunn, Marcia (25 July 2012). "Skydiver Fearless Felix jumps from 18 miles up". Associated Press. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  24. ^ a b Tierney, John (14 October 2012). "Daredevil Jumps, and Lands on His Feet". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  25. ^ Llorca, Juan Carlos (14 October 2012). "Skydiver Lands Safely After 24-Mile Leap to Earth". Associated Press. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  26. ^ Tierney, John (14 October 2012). "Daredevil Jumps, and Lands on His Feet". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  27. ^ Chakraborty, Upal (14 October 2012). "Faster than Sound Sky Diving". JolChobi Social News. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  28. ^ (CNN) Report. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  29. ^ NYDaily News:Red Bull Stratos Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  30. ^ "Fall from space to a fall from grace: Fearless Felix is accused of punching Greek lorry driver during rush-hour road rage incident". Daily Mail. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  31. ^ Samuel, Henry (15 October 2012). "The picture that proves Felix Baumgartner always dreamed of reaching for the skies". Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  32. ^ Petridis, Alexis (1 November 2012). "Space jumper Felix Baumgartner parachutes into politics". Guardian. Retrieved 4. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  33. ^ Höfler, Klaus (27 October 2012). "Baumgartner: "Wir würden eine gemäßigte Diktatur brauchen"". Kleine Zeitung. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  34. ^ "Daredevil skydiver Felix Baumgartner opts for 'moderate dictatorship'". AFP. 28 October 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  35. ^ Petridis, Alexis (01 November 2012). "Space jumper Felix Baumgartner parachutes into politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 04 November 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  36. ^ Körperverletzung: Felix Baumgartner schuldig orf.at, German. 6 November 2012
  37. ^ Supersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner found guilty of punching Greek lorry driver in road rage incident dailymail.co.uk, 6 November 2012

Footnotes

  1. ^ Baumgartner's mother's name has also been reported as Ava.
image icon Felix Baumgartner

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