New Helmet Cam Video of Baumgartner’s Incredible Freefall from Space

Yesterday Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner ascended to the dizzying height of 128,100 feet (24.2 miles) above the earth in a two hour balloon ride.  He then came back down in a considerably faster way by stepping out of his capsule onto a tiny platform, giving a salute, and jumping.  The event broke many records, including highest jump, longest distance freefall and highest speed, as he broke the sound barrier by hitting Mach 1.24.  He also shattered internet viewing records as YouTube reported over 8 million simultaneous live streams.

If you watched the event live then you probably noticed what appeared to be an almost out-of-control spin during the descent.  Now new footage has appeared on Austrian TV (Baumgartner’s native country) that shows the view from the camera mounted to his helmet, and it’s a dizzying descent indeed.

Previous record holder, Colonel Joe Kittinger who jumped from 19 miles way back in 1960, was front and center at Mission Control and was the voice in Felix’s ear throughout the event.  You can watch the entire 2.5 hour Odyssey condensed down to a minute and a half here.  The footage from the headcam can seen below, but it’s not for the faint of heart.