Felix Baumgartner: at the speed of sound to success. Extreme record. Felix Baumgartner broke the sound barrier without a plane Felix Baumgartner biography

Yesterday, October 14, Austrian extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner made a long jump from a height of 38 km. To make this risky jump, the parachutist ascended in a capsule attached to balloon, into the stratosphere to an unprecedented height, thereby setting a world record. After he jumped down, he flew for more than four minutes in free fall and broke the sound barrier, breaking the speed record. At an altitude of 7 km, Felix opened his parachute and landed safely on Earth.

It is worth saying that if Baumgartner had not been able to stabilize his body position during the fall, he could have lost consciousness and not opened the parachute. It was also unknown how the human body would react to its body overcoming supersonic speed. Baumgartner prepared for his jump for five years.

(Total 22 photos + 1 video)

1. Baumgartner leaves the capsule in which he was sitting waiting to rise, October 9, 2012. The mission was delayed due to high winds. (Balazs Gardi/Red Bull Content Pool/Handout/Reuters)

2. Baumgartner lands in the capsule of the stratospheric balloon on October 9, 2012. (Joerg Mitter/AFP/Getty Images)

3. Felix Baumgartner at the launch pad in New Mexico on October 9, 2012. (Joerg Mitter/AFP/Getty Images)

4. Felix Baumgartner stands on the tarmac after an aborted flight on October 9, 2012 (Red Bull Stratos via Getty Images)

5. Baumgartner prepares for a historic flight, October 14, 2012 (Jorg Mitter/AFP/Getty Images)

6. Baumgartner leaves the trailer and heads to the capsule for the ascent into space, October 14, 2012. (Balazs Gardi/AFP/Getty Images)

7. Baumgartner sits in his trailer before the flight, October 14, 2012. (Jorg Mitter/AFP/Getty Images)

8. Stratostat with the capsule in which Baumgartner ascended into space. New Mexico, October 14, 2012 (Predrag Vuckovic/AFP/Getty Images)

9. Felix Baumgartner climbs into the capsule before ascending into the stratosphere, October 14, 2012. (Balazs Gardi/AFP/Getty Images)

10. An image of Baumgartner is broadcast on a large screen at the mission control center in Roswell, New Mexico, USA, October 14, 2012. (Stefan Aufschnaiter/AFP/Getty Images)

11. Capsule for ascent into the stratosphere, Roswell, New Mexico. (Joerg Mitter/AFP/Getty Images)

12. The capsule in which Baumgartner is to rise into space awaits its pilot, Roswell, October 9, 2912 (Joerg Mitter/AFP/Getty Images)

13. Baumgartner leaves the trailer for landing in the stratospheric balloon on October 9, 2012. (Joerg Mitter/AFP/Getty Images)

14. Baumgartner prepares for flight on October 6, 2012. (Red Bull Stratos/Balazs Gardi/Handout/Reuters)

15. Baumgartner prepares for flight on October 6, 2012 (Red Bull Stratos/Balazs Gardi/Handout/Reuters)

16. Baumgartner inspects his capsule, Roswell, October 9, 2012. (Joerg Mitter/AFP/Getty Images)

17. Felix Baumgartner inspects his capsule, Roswell, October 9, 2012. (Joerg Mitter/AFP/Getty Images)20. Test of the stratospheric balloon that will carry Baumgartner into space, July 25, 2012. (Predrag Vuckovic/Red Bull via Getty Images)

21. Baumgartner prepares for flight on October 6, 2012. (Red Bull Stratos/Balazs Gardi/Handout/Reuters)

22. Felix Baumgartner sits in the capsule of the stratospheric balloon, October 5, 2012. (Balazs Gardi/AFP/Getty Images)

“Over the last 50 years, humanity has achieved a lot - we have been to the moon,” says Felix Baumgartner. "So it is curious why man has not yet exceeded the speed of sound without assistance vehicle". An Austrian skydiver is determined to challenge such statistics and become the first person in history to reach supersonic speeds in free fall. In 2003, Felix performed a winged flight across the English Channel, a carefully planned event during which his lone human figure glided high above the water, Like a bird, Felix has been obsessed with achieving supersonic speed ever since, and together with a group of the world's leading scientists, engineers and doctors, he wants to make history and push the boundaries of aeronautical research.

Felix was born on April 20, 1969 and grew up in Salzburg, Austria, where he early age he preferred individual sports such as boxing, rock climbing and motocross team events sports However, Felix's main dream was flight. He dreamed of skydiving and helicopters. So, as soon as he turned 16 (the minimum age allowed for skydiving in Austria), he went to a local club. “From the first second I realized that skydiving was my thing,” he recalls.

Felix honed his skydiving skills while serving in the Austrian armed forces. “I liked being faced with an unusual situation,” he recalls. “I loved that you could be in the city in the evening, and just a few days later you would be alone in the desert, without water or food. The situation was changing every week and we had to deal with it.” The young recruit found his niche when he joined the Special Forces Parachute Team, where he learned more advanced skills, including precision landings and piloting skills that still help him pinpoint his landing spot. In addition, he notes that: “serving in the armed forces also helped me a lot because I learned how to lead groups and organize people from different countries and cultures."

After passing military service, Felix made money by repairing motorcycles (“I like to go fast,” he laughs). Later, in 1988, representatives of the young local company Red Bull visited the local Salzburg parachute club for a skydiving exhibition. The Company's out-of-the-box thinking and Felix's adventurous spirit complemented each other greatly. Since then they have been collaborating for many years.

By 1990, Felix felt that he had tried everything in traditional skydiving and he expanded his arsenal of capabilities with BASE jumps. He learned the ropes from Tracy Walker, a BASE jumping pioneer who moved to Germany. Finally, Tracy told Felix about Bridge Day, the official international BASE jumping event held at the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia. “I took all my money, went to look, and realized that this is what I wanted,” says Felix. A year later he won General Championship Bridge Day.

“Everyone felt: yes, this is his sport,” Felix recalls. Today, the number "502" tattooed on his back marks him as the 502nd person recognized by BASE jumping's official body, the American BASE Jumping Association, founded by Carl Boenisch. To get a personal number, the jumper must make jumps from all four “classic” BASE objects (Building - building, Antenna - antenna, Spun - bridge, Earth - rock). Later, he developed his logo, protected his copyright by filing documents, and founded his own company under the “502” brand.

On the threshold of the new millennium, Felix has become a recognized expert, and, characteristically, he strives to do what no one has done before. In 1999, his jump from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, set a new world record for the "highest" BASE jump from a building. To do this, he had to put on a business suit and, in the guise of a businessman, get through the security and air conditioning system of the Malaysian Petronas Twin Towers (451 m). 88 floors of free fall and landing on the roof of a parking lot. Of course, the “502” was chased by law enforcement officers, but the lucky Baumgartner disappeared. In the same year, he successfully jumped from the Christ the Redeemer statue (38 m) in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Having launched an arrow from a crossbow, Felix secured the rope to the right hand of the statue and at dawn made a jump from the index finger of the stone statue. Baumgartner had only 29 m. This became a new record, but already the “lowest” BASE jump.

In 2004, Felix set another world record by becoming the first person to BASE jump from the world's highest support, the Millau Bridge in France (1,125 feet). And when the world's tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101 (1,667 feet), was built in Taiwan, he made the jump from it too.

Baumgartner spent a whole year preparing for the jump. The parachute was hidden in one of the toilet stalls. Felix spent about a week waiting for the necessary wind. Finally, when everything was ready, a real special operation unfolded. A group of hired Taiwanese teenagers distracted the public's attention with incendiary break dancing, and two assistants distracted the security guards observation deck. Baumgartner made his way undetected to its railing and jumped down. Unfortunately, he was unlucky - he fell onto the platform, which was located 4 floors below, and severely bruised his knee. However, Felix found the strength to get up and finish the jump. The extreme sportsman opened his parachute 5 seconds into the flight and successfully landed in a nearby parking lot, from where he safely escaped in a taxi. Within 2 hours he was sitting in the seat of a flight to Hong Kong.

Always on the lookout for new experiences, Felix has even parachuted into the 623-foot-deep Marmet Cave in Croatia. However, Felix's most remarkable achievement to date remains his unpowered and unpowered flight across the English Channel. Since this required the development of a special carbon dioxide-filled wing, the preparation of the project took three years. When Felix jumped from a plane at 32,808 feet above Dover, UK, on ​​July 31, 2003, he was protected from extreme weather conditions (temperatures of minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit) only by a specially made jump suit and helmet. Attached to his back was a six-foot wing, an oxygen tank and a parachute. Despite the difficulties hampering his free movement, Felix reached a speed of 220 miles per hour before cruising at about 135 miles per hour and completing the 22-mile flight to Calais, France, in just six minutes. After landing, record holder Felix Baumgartner made his now classic statement to the BBC: “You are absolutely alone. It's just you, your equipment, your wing and your skills. And I like it."

After crossing the English Channel, Felix was constantly looking for new experiences. Like every serious aviator and skydiver, he was familiar with Joe Kittinger's incredible achievement and knew that no one had broken Joe's free-fall altitude record in half a century. Felix decided to not only try to do this, but also try to exceed the speed of sound in the process. "Take the jump from the very high altitude- this is great, but for me the most big record“is, of course, becoming the first person to exceed the speed of sound in free flight,” comments Felix.

“True passion pushes boundaries even further and makes you do the impossible: Felix is ​​a perfect fit for our brand,” says Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz. And now, in 2010, Felix Baumgartner will take part in a dangerous mission on the border with space. It was his self-discipline, courage, physical and mental endurance, technical knowledge and determination that became invaluable qualities in preparing the Red Bull Stratos mission. The estimated jump height is 36.5 km.

Felix's training for this mission is similar to the rigorous training of test pilots and astronauts, having undergone an intensive course in aeronautics. “We listened carefully to what the experts said, but because we were developing this mission from scratch, sometimes we were forced to go back to the drawing stage,” he says. "For me best plan- this is to find out as much as possible in a short period of time, so that I can take into account the information of all our scientists and doctors and make sure that I understand it. But at a certain point you have to stand up, put a parachute on your back and say: “Let's do this!”

Felix readily admits that he gets apprehensive when taking on crazy projects, but he says he only begins to feel real anxiety in the hours before the jump. “The night before you think, if anything goes wrong, it’s your last night,” he admits. “But at the same time, it’s part of the job. In any mission like this you need a little luck, but most of all you need skill and preparation. On the appointed day, a moment will come when no one can help you except yourself.”

While preparing for the Stratos project, Felix was constantly between Salzburg and Los Angeles, but, as he said, “I feel at home in the air.” And wherever he is, he still uses the formula that sustained him twenty years ago: a combination of diverse experiences. In many parts of Europe, Felix Baumgartner is a household name; his name can be found on the Walk of Champions in Vienna, he has been nominated for a World Sports Award and two NEA Award nominations Extreme Sports Awards. He is also a distinguished spokesman and sponsor of the non-profit Research Foundation spinal cord"Wings for Life" However, in the rest of the world the extreme star is still relatively unknown.

On the threshold of his 40th birthday, Felix is ​​living another childhood dream: he has received the license to fly a private helicopter in the USA and Austria and to fly commercially in Europe. “There are a lot of difficulties with helicopters: it takes years to become a good pilot,” he said in slightly accented English. - “I try to throw myself into any possible situation: For example, I trained in mountain flying in Canada, and in five years I hope to become a firefighter, then fly for movies, and after that maybe be a mountain rescuer. This will be the second part of my life."

The same one! Who jumped! Which one is from the stratosphere! Well, the one on YouTube! And now for those who are not afraid of heights: skydiver Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from 39 kilometers, gave us an interview.

Evgeny Shapovalov

How did you prepare for the jump? Have you written a will? Had dinner with your girlfriend?..
We had a small party, my closest friends gathered, about fifteen people, including a girl. We celebrated... But what kind of celebration was there! It would be more correct to call it “the last supper.” We went to bed early, but I couldn't sleep. I felt like the whole world was looking at me.

Does jumping make you superstitious?
On the contrary, more self-confident. I had faith in my team, faith in the technique and, last but not least, faith in myself. I don't have any rituals or signs. I just try to visualize everything in advance. And I’ve been doing this for so many years... In addition, I made two test jumps - from 22 and 30 kilometers. So it's all in my head.

How did you celebrate the completion of the project?
We gathered as a team at our favorite restaurant, not far from our base in New Mexico. We celebrated until night. Then I went to the control room, sat there alone, admired the dawn and was glad that I was alive.

How do you, being so fearless, watch horror films? You're not scared!
I watch horror films like everyone else. And in general, I’m afraid of everything that scares most people. I'm just not afraid of heights.

What is your main fear?
I'm afraid of hurting myself and being confined to a chair for the rest of my life. Therefore, safety is my top priority. I want to stay healthy as long as possible.

Why did you announce your retirement from BASE jumping into the helicopter business?
IN this moment I feel like I've achieved something that I can put an end to. And I loved helicopters since childhood. By the way, I received my helicopter pilot license back in 2006. So I'm a certified commercial pilot.

Why do you need commercial aviation? You probably made a fortune with this jump?
I made a fortune even before Red Bull Stratos. But just because you have money doesn't mean you don't have to do anything else in life. Helicopters are my passion and I want my skills to help people. Put out fires, save people.

You are also a rally driver and a motorcyclist. Doesn't this seem like childish pranks compared to jumping from the sky?
Not at all. Rally – dangerous look sports You are rushing at full speed, for example, through a forest and can crash at any second. This is similar to rallying parachuting. And here, too, a lot depends on the team and technology. And I love motorcycles not as a sport, but as a means of transportation - ever since the time when, after the army, I worked as a mechanic in a motorcycle workshop.

You punched a Greek truck driver in the face, were fined one and a half thousand euros and now have a suspended sentence. What is this story?
Long story short, I was helping a friend of mine who was having a problem with this driver. The truth is that he hit me first. I pushed my hand into his face, and fragments of glasses scratched his eyebrow. It's just a scratch. I sought justice in two courts. The first judge didn’t believe me: he just didn’t like me. And the second court was based on the data of the first court. But this is, in general, nonsense.

There was a scandal recently when you said in an interview with Kleine Zeitung that Europe needs a dictatorship.
I then read a whole speech about democracy, and the journalist pulled out one phrase from it about dictatorship. I spoke only of a “moderate dictatorship.” I believe that democracy is perhaps the best form of government. But in modern Europe it comes down to the struggle of political parties with each other, and this, in my opinion, is not real democracy. Perhaps it's time to think about something else - perhaps a group of experts with government powers.

Have you heard your fellow countryman Arnold Schwarzenegger's review of his feat?
What did he say?

He tweeted: “Congratulations Felix Baumgartner. An outstanding and inspiring display of courage.”
Well, I missed everything. With this media tour, I don’t have time to follow the messages.

How do you like it in Gagarin's homeland?
We inspected Moscow nightclubs all weekend - it was something mind-blowing. But I can’t tell you everything that happened, otherwise there will be a scandal again.

Favorite motorcycle:
Moto Guzzi V7 Classic

A person can jump from a height very close to space. This was proven by the Austrian Felix Baumgartner. His free fall began almost 40 kilometers from the Earth. For some time he flew, outrunning the sound.

Stepping into the abyss, Austrian Felix Baumgartner seemed to have crossed into another dimension. Within 20 seconds he was falling at the speed of a jet plane, and after 48 Felix, for the first time in the history of mankind, without any mechanical means, overcame the speed of sound.

Immediately afterwards, cameras showed Baumgartner beginning to spin erratically. This is exactly what they were most afraid of before the jump - in a rarefied atmosphere there is no way to lean on the air flow and align your body. Overloads from rotation can reach monstrous levels - in the past, several daredevils died jumping in the stratosphere.

“There is practically no atmosphere there. The density of the atmosphere there is approximately 100, and maybe even more times less than the density at the Earth’s surface. Falling from such a height, a person will gain a speed of 330 meters per second in 35-40 seconds,” - explains Ernst Kalyazin, professor of the Department of Space Systems and Rocket Engineering at the Moscow Aviation Institute.

More than a minute has passed since the start of the jump, and there is no connection with Baumgartner. He is in a deadly environment, from which he is separated by a thin wall of a special spacesuit. At the beginning of the jump, he must protect the skydiver from the stratospheric cold, then from the heat that is released due to the friction of the spacesuit with the air. But the most important thing is that until now no one knew what a person would feel when breaking the sound barrier.

Relatives and colleagues could only hope for the vast experience of the world's most famous skydiver, which translated from English means “diving into the sky.” 43-year-old Felix Baumgartner was on his way to this record long years. He has made many dangerous parachute jumps, including from the most famous skyscrapers and monuments.

But the descent from the upper layers of the stratosphere is something special; it is also called a jump from near space. And after 1 minute 30 seconds from the start of the fall, Baumgartner got in touch.

This is how he himself describes his feelings in the first seconds of this crazy fall: “I suddenly began to spin faster and faster. And I tried to stop it: I stretched out one arm - it didn’t work. Then the other arm. But any movement there is delayed, because on such speed, in this suit it is impossible to predict what will happen next."

Baumgartner had the braking parachute release button, and he says he hesitated for several seconds: to slow down or go for the record. Pilot Joe Kittenger had a similar choice only 52 years ago. He was the first to dive from a height of more than 31 kilometers. Then he chose to open the brake parachute. And now, at 84, he acts as a technical consultant to Baumgartner and helps Felix break his own record.

This start was postponed many times. The wind made it impossible to deploy the gigantic 55-story-high stratospheric balloon dome. And when, finally, the device rose to 39 kilometers, the whole world froze in anticipation.

“I stood on the edge and thought: how cool it would be if everyone who is watching me now saw what I see. Sometimes you need to get so high to realize how small you are,” skydiver Felix shared his impressions Baumgartner.

In the USSR in 1962, two years after Joe Kittenger, there were also attempts to storm the stratosphere. Parachutist Evgeny Andreev successfully jumped from 25 kilometers, and his partner Pyotr Dolgov followed and died due to a microcrack in his spacesuit. But the women's world record for jumping from the stratosphere has been held since 1977 by Muscovite Elvira Fomicheva - almost 15 kilometers of free fall.

“The jump is very difficult. After 12 thousand it’s hard. Firstly, this is due to airless space. The body begins to burst and the total load is very large,” says world record holder Elvira Fomicheva.

Is there any practical meaning in such records? Felix Baumgartner is now ready to look for the answer to this question only on Earth. He promised his beloved that this jump would be his last, and who knows whether his record will last another 50 years.

His jump from the stratosphere

An Austrian extreme skydiver jumped from a height of 39 kilometers and became the first person to overcome the speed of sound in free fall. “That’s it, I’m going home” - these were Baumgartner’s last words before the crazy jump from the stratosphere, thanks to which the athlete set three world records at once: the record for the highest altitude to which a person has ever climbed on a stratospheric balloon, the highest altitude parachute jump and the fastest free fall.

Why did Felix name his company "502"?

Having won in international championship in BASE jumping in 1991, Baumgartner became the 502nd person recognized by the American BASE Jumping Association. This is how the nickname of the parachutist B.A.S.E appeared. 502, which later became the name of his own brand.

Mutually beneficial project

According to Austrian media, the jump from the stratosphere brought Felix Baumgartner not only worldwide fame and an incredible burst of adrenaline, but also a significant profit of 10 million euros. It was this fee that was provided by the Austrian company Red Bull for the phenomenal jump from the stratosphere. Red Bull did not confirm this information to the media. Be that as it may, the joint project between Baumgartner and Red Bull turned out to be very mutually beneficial. To prepare the entire project, 50 million euros were needed - an investment that paid off in the shortest possible time. According to Eurobrand, the jump from the stratosphere has increased the value of the Red Bull brand from 14 to 17 billion euros.

Baumragtner in court

Shortly after jumping from the stratosphere, a skydiver appeared in court on charges of causing bodily harm to a Greek truck driver during a road quarrel. The court did not accept the record holder's version of self-defense, found him guilty and ordered the extreme athlete to pay material damages in the amount of one and a half thousand euros.

Space Conqueror

Felix Baumgartner is reluctant to share his plans for the future. Many viewed the jump from the stratosphere as the end of Baumgartner’s career, because the athlete himself said: “In skydiving, I achieved everything I wanted to achieve.” Back in December 2012, many Austrian publications reported on the earthly plans of an extreme sports enthusiast to become a mountain rescuer in Switzerland and devote himself to calm family life. But it seems that the constant search for new sensations and the thirst for adrenaline have taken their toll and Baumgartner is not averse to flying to the moon. The Austrian is convinced that the future lies in space tourism, which requires intensive development and financial support. In one interview, he optimistically stated: “Perhaps a person will appear who will tell me: “Listen, I’ll finance this for you.”

Felix Baumgartner

Skydiving with right hand statues of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.

Felix Baumgartner's world record:

the lowest jump in BASE jumping (height 29 meters)

The most unusual presentation of a book. “I feel at home in the air.” F. Baumgartner

One of Felix Baumgartner's many jumps

In Oman

Felix Baumgartner became the first person in history to fly across the English Channel without the help of a motor. A carbon wing attached to his back became his only “vehicle”.

Felix Baumgartner video. Jump from the stratosphere 2012.

Special thanks to Felix Baumgartner’s company “502” for the materials provided.