Felix Baumgartner will make his 128,097 foot supersonic skydive now.
The 43-year-old was hoping also to break the sound barrier during his descent – although that mark awaits confirmation.
Video cameras relayed the moment Baumgartner stepped from his balloon capsule to begin his fall to Earth.
It took 10 minutes for him to reach the desert surface below.
Only the last few thousand feet were negotiated by parachute.
2:30 p.m.: It now appears Baumgartner is NOT — repeat — NOT on Twitter. Thanks to Guardian’s @JonathanHaynes via our own @MrButterworth. Still waiting for official word from Red Bull myself, however.
2:28 p.m.: The live feed has gone silent for now, and my hands have stopped shaking, hopefully for good. A press conference is scheduled to begin shortly, according to the slate on the screen. I’ll be sticking with it until then. But tweet me your reactions and
2:22 p.m.: According to the indicators provided by the Stratos team, Baumgartner surpassed the speed of sound, but we’re still awaiting official confirmation.
2:19 p.m.: Unofficially Baumgartner has achieved a 4 minute and 22 second freefall, which does not break Kittinger’s record for elapsed time of a free fall, although Baumgartner has broken the record for the highest manned balloon jump. There has been no confirmation yet that Baumgartner achieved Mach 1.
2:18 p.m.: Baumgartner has landed safely with recovery crew nearby. The balloon has been cut from the capsule and is beginning its descent.
2:12 p.m.: Baumgartner says, “My visor is fogging up.” But his chute has successfully deployed as he approaches warmer temperatures.
“’Couldn’t have done it any better myself,” said Kittinger over the radio. Baumgartner’s mother, Eva,ß appears stunned, elated with joyful tears in her eyes.
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Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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