Stratos adventurer Baumgartner dies

Baumgartner gained worldwide fame in October 2012 when he became the first human to break the sound barrier in freefall, jumping out of a helium-filled balloon in the stratosphere.

The jump from an altitude of 128,100 feet—which was broadcast live by the Discovery Channel and online—was called “Project Stratos” and sponsored by Red Bull. The ascent to the edge of space was then the highest crewed balloon flight and during his freefall, wearing a pressurized suit, Baumgartner reached a top speed of Mach 1.24. A team of 300 engineers, scientists, and specialists supported the mission.

Baumgartner was born on April 20, 1969, in Salzburg and completed an apprenticeship as a machinist. He learned to skydive at 16 and later joined the Austrian armed forces and trained to be a tank driver. Afterward, he worked as a professional boxer, motocross rider, helicopter pilot, and BASE jumper before taking on his riskiest project, and the one that propelled him to fame as a daredevil adventurer. The Red Bull jump, he said later, was the “highlight of [his] career.”—Pilar Wolfsteller