Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner completed his record-breaking jump from 24 miles above the Earth’s surface (128,100 feet) on Sunday. Just released is the footage from his helmet camera, where his astounding peak velocity of 833.9 mph is captured in all its glory. The former soldier broke the sound barrier while tumbling for four minutes back to the New Mexico Desert.
The jump itself was streamed live to an audience of a reported 8 million people on YouTube, which makes it the largest live-streaming event in the site’s history. The event was postponed twice due to weather concerns, mostly high winds, but the conditions were ideal for Sundays jump.
While falling through the atmosphere, Baumgartner considered pulling a reserve chute. CNN Reports:
“There was a period of time where I really thought, ‘I am in trouble,’ ” Baumgartner said, recalling how he considered pushing a button that would have released a drogue chute, slowing and stabilizing his descent — and scuttling the attempt to break the sound barrier.
Fortunately he was able to regain control in time to break the barrier. The successful sky fall breaks a record set by Col. Joe Kittinger in 1960, where he completed a jump of 102,800 feet.