The skies feel a little emptier today. Felix Baumgartner, the man who once jumped from the edge of space, has died. He was 56 years old. The sad news broke on Thursday, July 17.
His life ended in a paragliding accident in Porto Sant’Elpidio, Italy. Reports from the scene say his paraglider hit the side of a swimming pool. Local mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella shared his grief. He said Baumgartner was a global icon of bravery. City officials suspect a medical problem caused him to lose control.
Many remember Baumgartner by his famous nickname, “Felix the Fearless.” He earned it with his incredible Red Bull Stratos jump in 2012. He launched himself from 24 miles above Earth. He plummeted, breaking the sound barrier at 1,357 kilometers per hour. That’s about 1.25 times the speed of sound. The whole wild ride lasted about nine minutes. A scary 13-second flat spin happened while he was still going supersonic. Around eight million people watched it live on YouTube. Red Bull later made a documentary using his helmet camera footage.
After landing in New Mexico, he spoke of humility. “When I was there on top of the world,” he said, “you become so humble. You just want to come back alive.” His jump was the highest at the time. He topped the 1960 record set by Joseph Kittinger. Kittinger, who passed in 2022, actually advised Baumgartner. Felix shared another profound thought: “Sometimes we have to go very high to see how small we are.” While Alan Eustace later broke his altitude record, Baumgartner still holds the vertical speed record.
Before his space jump, Baumgartner was already a well-known daredevil. His career as a BASE jumper began in the 1990s. In 1999, he set a record jumping from the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. That same year, he made the lowest BASE jump ever. He leaped from the hand of Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue, just 30 meters up. Four years later, he became the first to parachute across the English Channel. His life was clearly one of pushing boundaries.
Baumgartner was never married. However, he had been in a long-term relationship. He was with Romanian TV presenter Mihaela Rădulescu since 2014.
Felix Baumgartner lived a life that defied gravity and limits. He leaves behind a legacy of unmatched courage and breathtaking feats.