Felix Baumgartner's record set two years ago was shattered by Alan Eustace, 57-year-old Google VP

Oct 25, 2014 11:26 GMT  ·  By

Felix Baumgartner no longer holds the world record of the highest jump, after Alan Eustace, a senior vice president at Google, managed to take the top spot.

Eustace, a 57-year-old computer scientist, climbed to the top of the stratosphere with the help of a balloon, much like Baumgartner did several years ago. From there, he jumped towards the earth, falling faster than the speed of sound and breaking the world altitude record set two years ago, the New York Times reports.

A historic jump

The lift took nearly two hours as a balloon filled with 35,000 cubic feet of helium, ascended at speeds of up to 1,600 feet per minute (0.48 kilometers per minute) to more than 25 miles (40.23 kilometers). Eustace wore a specially designed spacesuit with an elaborate life-support system that allowed him to survive at such heights.

After he made the plunge, it took him 15 minutes to reach the ground while reaching speeds of 822 miles per hour (1322,88 km per hour). His jump even set off a small sonic boom which could be heard by people on the ground.

About four and a half minutes into the plunge, Eustace opened the main parachute and glided towards the Earth, some 70 miles (112 kilometers) away from the launch site. The team that helped him achieve this feat had designed a carbon-fiber attachment that kept him from becoming entangled in the parachute as it opened.

Although initial reports indicated that the Google exec reached a top altitude of 135,908 feet (41.42 kilometers), the final number that was submitted to the World Air Sports Federation is 135,890 feet (41.41 kilometers). The original record set in October 2012 was of 128,100 feet (39.04 kilometers).

A wild, wild ride

“It was amazing. It was beautiful. You could see the darkness of space and you could see the layers of atmosphere, which I had never seen before,” Eustace said after his feet were back on the ground.

“It was a wild, wild ride. I hugged on to the equipment module and tucked my legs and I held my heading,” he said.

Unlike the daredevil that took the plunge two years ago, Eustace is a computer scientist who worked on his plan in complete secrecy for three years. He worked with a group of technologists skilled in spacesuit design, life-support systems and parachute and balloon technology. He used GoPro cameras connected to the ground control center to record the adventure of his life.

Eustace was offered Google’s help with the project, but he declined, refusing to make his jump a marketing event.

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Alan Eustace landing after 15 minutes
Alan Eustace
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