57-Year-Old Google VP Jumps From 135,890 Feet, Breaking Felix Baumgartner's World Record
On 24 October 2014, a senior Google executive broke the world record for highest free-fall parachute jump set by the Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from 128,100 feet on 14 October 2012.
By Sadho Ram — 25 Oct 2014, 06:20 PM — Updated almost 10 years ago
57-year-old Alan Eustace, whose official title is Senior Vice President of Knowledge at Google, successfully parachuted from a balloon near the top of the stratosphere on 24 October, falling faster than the speed of sound. He jumped from 135,890 feet.
The accomplishment came out of nowhere with no fanfare or media buzz whatsoever; The New York Times' science Twitter account first reported Alan's incredible feat, The Verge reported.
While Alan's altitude was initially reported as 135,908 feet, the final number being submitted to the World Air Sports Federation is 135,890 feet. The previous altitude record was set by Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from 128,100 feet on 14 October 2012.
To put that in perspective, scientists say you officially enter space at 73 miles above Earth's surface. That's pretty high up--and Eustace was about a third of the way there.
Alan was lifted by a balloon filled with 35,000 cubic feet of helium. Underneath it, he dangled in a specially designed spacesuit with an elaborate life-support system, The New York Times reported.
Alan gets lifted to his peak altitude of 135,890 feet via a high-altitude ballooning system.
Image via huffingtonpost.comFor a little over two hours, the balloon ascended at speeds up to 1,600 feet per minute to an altitude of more than 40 kilometre. Alan then returned to earth just 15 minutes after starting his fall.
Alan cut himself loose from the balloon with the aid of a small explosive device and plummeted toward the earth at speeds that peaked at 822 miles per hour, setting off a small sonic boom heard by people on the ground.
nytimes.com
Speaking to The New York Times, Alan said: "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."
“It was a wild, wild ride,” he said. “I hugged on to the equipment module and tucked my legs and I held my heading.” He did not feel or hear the boom as he passed the speed of sound, he said. He performed two slow backflips before a small parachute righted him.
nytimes.com
Alan declined Google's offers to help, seeking to avoid the spectacle and frenzy that surrounded Baumgartner's jump
The Google executive was carried into the stratosphere using balloon technology
Image via bbcimg.co.ukThe Google executive - who is also a veteran pilot and parachutist - had been planning this jump for several years, working in secret with a small group of people trained in parachute and balloon technology, says the BBC's David Willis in Los Angeles.
But, our correspondent adds, Mr Eustace completed it without the aid of sponsorship, and with considerably less fanfare than the previous record holder, Felix Baumgartner, whose jump from the edge of space was streamed live over the internet two years ago.