Austrian crazy guy Felix Baumgartner became a household name yesterday when he climbed into a little capsule with a balloon attached and flew to the edge of outer space, 24 miles above the Earth. Once he reached his desired altitude, Felix popped the door open and stepped out for some fresh air, and then he plummeted back to the ground while everyone watched via YouTube. Amazingly, his quest was a success and people cheered him on (or, you know, asked why in the blue yonder of hell would he even do this in the first place).
So what does it feel like to be 24 miles above the Earth, watching as the ground gets closer and closer? According to Felix, it ain’t no thang, bros.
“It’s like swimming without touching the water, and it’s hard because every time it turns you around you have to figure out what to do. So I was sticking my arm out then it became worse,” he said. “I had a lot of pressure in my head. But I didn’t feel like I was passing out. I was still feeling ok, I — I thought, ‘I can handle the situation.’ And I did.” (Via)
Perhaps the craziest detail of this feat is that Felix reached a max speed of 833 mph – Mach 1.24, according to dorks – while he broke the sound barrier in his cool little suit. And the whole thing lasted just 4 minutes and 20 seconds. Man, if I could last 4 minutes and 20 seconds… wait, what were we talking about?
Felix is sponsored by Red Bull in all of his craziest endeavors, and the energy drink company was obviously stoked after Felix landed safely yesterday, so its marketing and PR wizards expressed their encouragement on Facebook. Unfortunately, they didn’t bother using spell check and they made the tiniest little faux pas.
