Supersonic skydiver faster than thought
Supersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner fell faster during his historic skydive in October 2012 than originally believed — 1.25 times the speed of sound, it has emerged.
The final analysis has shown that the Austrian daredevil attained a speed of 1,357.6 km per hour as he leapt from his stratospheric balloon, about 15 km per hour more than what was initially reported.
“Fearless Felix” Baumgartner’s stated aim was to become the first person to break the sound barrier unaided by a vehicle, which he succeeded in doing, touching a final Mach number of 1.25, BBC News reported.
However, although his vertical velocity has been revised upwards, the 43-year-old’s jump altitude has been corrected downwards slightly.
Additional analysis shows the Baumgartner stepped out of his special capsule at 38,969.4 metre, a reduction from the previous estimate of 39,045 metre.
Baumgartner’s “space jump” was made over the New Mexico desert, US, on 14 October, the report said.
Millions across the world followed his progress on internet video feeds as he climbed slowly into the sky in his 55-storey-high helium balloon, before making a rapid, 10-minute descent to earth, with just under five of those minutes spent in free-fall. The biggest moment of drama came when the Austrian went into a spin as he hurtled towards the ground, turning at a maximum rate of 60 revolutions per minute.
Baumgartner had to use all the skills picked up in more than 2,500 career skydives to recover a stable configuration and complete the dive safely.
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