Felix Baumgartner, famed pilot and BASE jumper, dies at 56

Soon, Baumgartner expanded his aerial repertoire with BASE jumping, in which a parachuted jumper leaps from a fixed object or landform. Fourteen world records followed as Baumgartner became known for BASE jumping off cliffs, airplanes, and even from the top of the cultural icons.

“I know that I can die undertaking the kinds of jumps that I do,” he told National Geographic in 2010. “When I was ready to BASE jump from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, only 95 feet from the ground, it crossed my mind that in less than three seconds I could cease to exist. But I don’t have a death wish. I wouldn’t even say that I’m a thrill seeker or adrenaline junkie. I’m a person who likes a challenge.”

Felix Baumgartner, who goes by the code name 'Base 502,' prepares to jump from the arm of the Christ the Redeemer statue on December 1, 1999. It was the first-ever known base-jump made from the site. Photograph By Reuters/Redux

The edge of space

By 2012, Baumgartner was in his forties and ready for a new challenge: setting a world record by jumping to Earth from the edge of space and becoming the world’s fastest falling human in the process. The Red Bull STRATOS project took Baumgartner 24 miles to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere in a capsule attached to a helium balloon the size of 33 football fields.

On October 14, 2012, as millions watched via livestream, Baumgartner, clad in a special suit, jumped from the capsule into the highest freefall of all time. His 24.2-mile fall broke the sound barrier, thrusting him downward at a top speed of 844 miles an hour.

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