Google Exec Breaks Space Jump Record

A couple of years back, Felix Baumgartner successfully attempted to set the world record for the highest altitude free-fall jump. The world watched in awe as this skydiver from Austria jumped from a balloon at an altitude of 128,100 feet and successfully landed back here on earth.

As you know, world records seldom last long. Alan Eustace, a senior vice president at Google, recently broke Felix Baumgartner’s record, last Friday morning.

Eustace, broke Felix Baumgartner’s two-year-old world record for highest altitude free-fall jump when he parachuted from a balloon close the top of the stratosphere. In doing so he jumped from a height of nearly 26 miles and in the process he also broke the sound barrier! Not bad for a mornings work.

The New York Times had reported that 57-year-old Eustace, ascended to the edge of the stratosphere in a balloon that was filled with 35,000 cubic feet of helium, from an airport strip in Roswell, New Mexico. Eustace then used a small explosive device and hurtled towards our planet at speeds of up to 822 miles per hour. He landed safely on the ground, fifteen minutes later.

Eustace informed the Times “It was amazing…it was beautiful. You could see the darkness of space and you could see the layers of atmosphere, which I had never seen before.”

Eustace reportedly reached a maximum height of 135,890 feet, beating Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner who set the previous record in October of 2012 with a parachute jump from a balloon at an altitude of 128,100 feet.

Eustace informed the Times that he began planning the jump about three years ago, in secrecy, gathering all of the state-of-the-art technology and equipment that was necessary from a team of professionals.

Although Google offered to help out with the project, Eustace reportedly turned the company down for fear that the jump would become a marketing event.

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[Images via nationalpost & universetoday]

SOURCE: http://mashable.com/2014/10/24/google-exec-free-fall/