{"id":96979,"date":"2022-10-14T14:25:16","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T14:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/felix-baumgartner-10-years-on-the-man-who-fell-to-earth-is-still-awed-by-experience\/"},"modified":"2022-10-14T14:25:16","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T14:25:16","slug":"felix-baumgartner-10-years-on-the-man-who-fell-to-earth-is-still-awed-by-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/felix-baumgartner-10-years-on-the-man-who-fell-to-earth-is-still-awed-by-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Felix Baumgartner: 10 years on, the man who fell to Earth is still awed by experience"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

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\n CNN<\/span>
\n \u2014
\n <\/cite>\n<\/p>\n

\n

After six years of preparation, struggle and sacrifice, Felix Baumgartner found himself quite literally on the edge of the world.\n <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI’m standing there on top of the world outside of a capsule in space and in the stratosphere. I looked around the sky above me was completely black,\u201d Baumgartner told CNN Sport’s Patrick Snell as he reflected on his Red Bull Stratos freefall in October 2012, as he looked at Earth from a vantage point of 127,852 feet (some 24 miles\/39 kilometers ).\n <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI was really trying to inhale that moment,\u201d added Baumgartner.\n <\/p>\n

\n

And with more that eight million people watching on YouTube, the Austrian daredevil uttered those famous words: \u201cSometimes you have to go up to understand how small you are. I’m coming home now.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It was a project that was initially expected to take 24 months from start to finish but ended up a taking up a number more years.\n <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe thought, we’re going to build the capsule, build the pressure suit, practice for a while, and then we go all the way up to the stratosphere and come back to Earth at supersonic speed,\u201d says Baumgartner.\n <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSometimes we’d go into a meeting with three problems and then leave that meeting eight hours later with another five \u2026 and no solution for the previous problems.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n

To get Baumgartner up to the stratosphere, his team had to construct a helium balloon the size of 33 football pitches \u2013 weighing 3,708lbs. It took as many as 20 people to move without damaging the balloon’s material that was 10 times thinner than a sandwich bag.\n <\/p>\n

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But the biggest threat to the project was perhaps the most unforeseen \u2013 Baumgartner’s mental fortitude.\n <\/p>\n

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The suit had to be both pressurized and able to handle temperatures of minus 72\u00b0 Celsius (minus 97.6\u00b0 Farenheit).\n <\/p>\n

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\u201cIt’s very uncomfortable,\u201d says Baumgartner. \u201cYou have a total lack of mobility. It always feels like you’re breathing through a pillow. You’re completely separated from the outside world. So once the visor is down, all you can hear is yourself breathing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n

The prospect of lasting up to eight hours in the pressure suit would take Baumgartner a number of months \u2013 and help from psychiatrists and sports psychologists \u2013 to accept.\n <\/p>\n

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\u201cI had to look at the suit like it is my friend, not my enemy,\u201d adds Baumgartner.\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n \"\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Austrian jumped from the balloon effectively while in space, where the normal rules of sky diving do not apply.\n <\/p>\n

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He spent the next nine minutes falling through the sky, half of which were in complete freefall.\n <\/p>\n

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\u201cOnce I was on my way, I slowly started to spin in one direction, then I start spinning in the opposite direction, and then I really started spinning faster and faster and faster,\u201d Baumgartner explained.\n <\/p>\n

\n

Baumgartner hadn’t been able to train for freefall in space, so that spinning sensation was extremely disconcerting.\n <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis was a very alarming moment because there is no protocol,\u201d the 53-year-old said as he plummeted at a speed of 843.6 mph (1357.64 kmh) \u2013 1.25 times that of sound. \u201cIt’s like sailing without wind meaning your skills do not work.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n

He eventually passed through the Armstrong line, where the air becomes thicker, and Baumgartner was able to stabilize himself and started to \u201cenjoy my skydive.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n \"Baumgartner's<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cOnce I opened my parachute and opened my visor, this was the first moment after seven hours where I was breathing outside air. I was reconnected to the outside world, and that was a very happy moment.\n <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe only thing that I didn’t know when I landed was: did I break the speed of sound? Because, once you’re in freefall, you know you’re fast, but you have absolutely no indication of how fast you actually are.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n

Baumgartner endured an agonizing 10-minute wait \u2013 more time than when he was actually in the air \u2013 before he received confirmation that he hit a top speed of 844mph, over 75mph faster than the speed of sound.\n <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAnd at that moment I was really happy and satisfied because to me, breaking the speed of sound as a human, the first human in history, that was definitely something.\u201d\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CNN \u2014 After six years of preparation, struggle and sacrifice, Felix Baumgartner found himself quite literally on the edge of the world. \u201cI’m standing there on top of the world outside of a capsule in space and in the stratosphere. I looked around the sky above me was completely black,\u201d Baumgartner told CNN Sport’s Patrick …<\/p>\n

Felix Baumgartner: 10 years on, the man who fell to Earth is still awed by experience<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[31260,7232],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46781,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/new-york-jets-what-can-fans-expect-from-zach-wilson-when-he-returns\/","url_meta":{"origin":96979,"position":0},"title":"New York Jets: What can fans expect from Zach Wilson when he returns?","date":"August 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The narrative for Zach Wilson's sophomore season took a turn last Friday, when the New York Jets starting quarterback left the team's preseason opener with a knee injury.While it wasn't a season-ending injury, it could have an impact on his development, and there are still questions when the former BYU\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16481,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/allyson-felix-runs-last-race-at-track-and-field-world-championships\/","url_meta":{"origin":96979,"position":1},"title":"Allyson Felix runs last race at track and field world championships","date":"July 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Comment on this storyCommentEUGENE, Ore. \u2014 Allyson Felix handed off the baton, trotted a few steps into the infield grass and bent at the waist, hands on her knees. 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