Felix Baumgartner

Felix Baumgartner (born 20 April 1969) is an Austrian skydiver, daredevil and BASE jumper. He set the world record for skydiving an estimated 39 km, reaching an estimated speed of 1357.64 km/h, or Mach 1.25,  on 14 October 2012, and became the first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power on his descent. He is also renowned for the particularly dangerous nature of the stunts he has performed during his career. Baumgartner spent time in the Austrian military where he practiced parachute jumping, including training to land on small target zones.

Baumgartner's most recent project was Red Bull Stratos, in which he jumped to Earth from a helium balloon in the stratosphere on 14 October 2012. As part of this project, he set the altitude record for a manned balloon flight, parachute jump from the highest altitude, and greatest free fall velocity.

Biography
Felix Baumgartner was born on 20 April 1969, in Salzburg, Austria. When he was a little boy, he dreamed about flying and skydiving. In 1999 he claimed the world record for the highest parachute jump from a building when he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On 20 July 2003, Baumgartner became the first person to skydive across the English Channel using a specially made carbon fiber wing. Alban Geissler, who developed the SKYRAY carbon fiber wing with Christoph Aarns, suggested after Baumgartner's jump that the wing he used was a copy of two prototype SKYRAY wings sold to Red Bull (Baumgartner's sponsor) two years earlier.

Baumgartner also set the world record for the lowest BASE jump ever, when he jumped 29 m from the hand of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. This jump also stirred controversy among BASE jumpers who pointed out that Baumgartner cited the height of the statue as the height of the jump even though he landed on a slope below the statue's feet, and that other BASE jumpers had previously jumped from the statue but avoided publicity.

He became the first person to BASE jump from the completed Millau Viaduct in France on 27 June 2004 and the first person to skydive onto, then BASE jump from, the Turning Torso building in Malmö, Sweden, on 18 August 2006. On 12 December 2007 he became the first person to jump from the 91st floor observation deck of the then-tallest completed building in the world, Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan.

Red Bull Stratos
In January 2010, it was reported that Baumgartner was working with a team of scientists and sponsor Red Bull to attempt the highest sky-dive on record.

Test jumps
On 15 March 2012, Baumgartner completed the first of 2 test jumps from 21818 m. During the jump, he spent approximately three minutes and 43 seconds in free fall, reaching speeds of more than 580 km/h, before opening his parachute. In total, the jump lasted approximately eight minutes and eight seconds and Baumgartner became the third person to safely parachute from a height of over 21.7 km.

On 25 July 2012, Baumgartner completed the second of two planned test jumps from 96640 ft. It took Baumgartner about 90 minutes to reach the target altitude and his free fall was estimated to have lasted three minutes and 48 seconds before his parachutes were deployed.

Main jump
The launch was originally scheduled for 9 October 2012, but was aborted due to adverse weather conditions. Launch was rescheduled and the mission instead took place on 14 October 2012 when Baumgartner landed in eastern New Mexico after jumping from a world record 38,969.3 metres (127,852 feet) and falling a record distance of 36,402.6 metres. On the basis of updated data, Baumgartner also set the record for the highest manned balloon flight (at the same height) and fastest speed of free fall at 1,357.64 km/h (843.6 mph), making him the first human to break the sound barrier outside of a vehicle. Baumgartner was in free fall for 4 minutes and 19 seconds, 17 seconds short of mentor Joseph Kittinger's 1960 jump.

Training for the jump
Baumgartner initially struggled with claustrophobia after spending time in the pressurized suit required for the jump, but overcame it with help from a sports psychologist and other specialists.

Audi Motorsport
In 2014, Baumgartner decided to join Audi Motorsport to drive an Audi R8 LMS for the 2014 24 Hours of Nurburgring after racing Volkswagen Polos in 2013. He will undergo another intense physical and driver training session to prepare him for the race.

Personal life
In October 2012, when Baumgartner was asked in an interview with the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung whether a political career was an option for his future life, he stated that the "example of Arnold Schwarzenegger" showed, that "you can't move anything in a democracy" and that he would opt for a "moderate dictatorship [...] led by experienced personalities coming from the private (sector of the) economy". He finally stated he "didn't want to get involved in politics."

On 6 November 2012 Baumgartner was convicted of battery and was fined €1500 after punching a Greek truck driver in the face.

After Austrian authorities refused to grant sports tax breaks to Baumgartner, he moved to Arbon, Switzerland, whereupon his house in Salzburg and his helicopter were seized.

Baumgartner dated Playboy German playmate of the century Gitta Saxx. Later he was engaged to Nicole Öttl, a model and former beauty queen (Miss Lower Austria 2006). They broke up in 2013.

His mother is named Eva, and he has one brother, Gerard Baumgartner.

Awards

 * In 2012 he won the Bambi award in the category of "Millennium".
 * In December 2012, Felix was named one of "The Men of the Year 2012" by Top Gear (magazine).
 * He was named Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year (12 March 2013).
 * He received the Mankind Award at The 2013 Spike Guys' Choice Awards.