Felix Baumgartner Full Video, Checklist, Supersonic Freefall, & Landing

Watch the full video of Felix Baumgartner falling from 24-miles at the edge of space (Below). This afternoon I was one of the lucky ones that remembered to watch the live video feed. One of the most thrilling events from the edge of space was the pre-jump checklist that Baumgartner was trained to go through. Some notable events were:

– Item #27, #28 “Lift legs through the door capsule” (Just as he lifts legs, camera angle changes to him dangling over the Earth 128,000 feet up in the air)

– Item #29 “Release seat belt” (Heightening the tension Felix paused and did not undue the seat belt first time around)

There seemed to be other communication issues where Baumgartner didn’t seem to be responding right away to mission control commands. It was almost like what they do in the movies where you aren’t sure if the hero is going to go through with it or not.

– Just before Baumgartner jumps he makes a statement that for the majority of the statement is inaudible further heightening the tension. He gives a salute saying, “I’m going home now” and he starts the plummet towards Earth. I was thinking to myself if my last words where, “I’m going now,” I’d want a do-over. I just learned today that he said “I’m going home now” which makes a lot more sense.

– You at first hear Baumgartner breathing, the MPH graphic reads 443 MPH and it starts climbing rapidly. At 729 MPH the video feed cuts to mission control and you cease to hear Felix Baumgartner’s breath. At this point I’m thinking did they cut away because something went terribly wrong?

– You here Baumgartner repeating a couple times that his visor is fogging up and he can’t see.

– They cut back suddenly to Felix still at 729 MPG and he’s seen violently spinning around, out of control. After what seems like a minute of spinning Felix somehow stabilizes himself and descends to Earth in typical skydiver fashion.

At first I felt this was some daredevil Red Bull sponsored publicity stunt. After learning more about the mission, people behind it, and especially watching the live feed it was much more moving than I ever expected. Congratulations to to Felix Baumgartner!