Felix Baumgartner Jumps From 18 Miles Up. Next: the World Record

Now just the big jump remains.

Wednesday, daredevil Felix Baumgartner jumped from nearly 100,000 feet up, cruised to more than 500 miles per hour, and landed safely near Roswell, N.M., the AP reports. Baumgartner flew for nearly four minutes after jumping from his giant helium balloon before pulling his chute.

This success is the next-to-last jump for the Red Bull Stratos mission. In the coming weeks, Baumgartner intends to complete his plan of jumping from 125,000 feet, or about 23 miles up. That would shatter the current record of 19.5 miles, set in 1960 by Air Force man Joe Kittinger (who has been coaching Baumgartner during his preparations.)

While we anticipate Felix's final attempt, you can catch up on what he's done so far with our photo tour of the capsule, our interview with Baumgartner, our 2010 cover story on the jump, and our illustration of how the record-setting space dive will unfold.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/how-to/blog/felix-baumgartner-jumps-from-18-miles-up-next-the-world-record-11016448?src=rss

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