Felix Baumgartner Record-Breaking Jump [PICTURES]

2012-10-15T21:37:00.000Z

Jump Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner captivated the world this week after he leapt 24 miles to Earth becoming the first man to break the speed of sound in a free fall.

If you missed the historic space jump, we've recapped some of the best moments from the record-breaking dive.

Preparations for the big launch begin before sun rise Sunday, Oct. 14. The weather looks good for an early launch, though lift-off is eventually delayed two hours.

Felix steps out of his trailer in a full-pressure and helmet. The parachute pack on his back weights 60 pounds alone.

Felix begins to breath pure oxygen to remove nitrogen from his bloodstream about two hours before launch.

Around 10:45 a.m. the winds are finally calm enough for balloon inflation to begin.

Around 11:30 a.m. a crane releases the capsule attached to the balloon.

The mission crew rejoices!

Felix's mom, Eva, watches her son travel up into the sky. She cried when the balloon launched.

On the two-hour journey to the stratosphere there is some concern that the heater in Felix's visor isn't working, allowing his visor to fog up.

Around 1:40 p.m., the balloon passes its target of 120,000 feet. Felix has already broken one record — highest manned balloon flight — before he even leaves the capsule.

A few minutes later the decision is made that Felix will jump, despite the face-plate heater issue.

Joe Kittinger in mission control runs through an exit check list. He tells Felix to depressurize the space capsule in preparation to open the door.

The space capsule door opens and Felix steps out onto a skateboard-size platform.

Felix described how he felt in that moment during a press conference: "When I was standing there on top of the world you become so humble you do not think about breaking records anymore. You do not think about gaining scientific data; the only thing you that you want is to come back alive. You do not want to die in front of your parents, your girlfriend and all these people watching this."

And then, he jumps.

Shortly after jumping, we see Felix going into an uncontrolled spin. "That spin became so violent it was hard to know how to get out of it. I was able to get it under control and break the speed of sound," he revealed later.

Over his radio, he tells us that his visor is fogging up.

But everything appears to be ok once we see his signature Red Bull parachute deploy.

Felix makes a beautiful landing and raises his arms in celebration.

His parents (center), girlfriend (far right) and assistant (far left) are elated.

Preliminary data shows that Felix achieved his goal to break the speed of sound, reaching a top of 833.9 mph or Mach 1.24.

Why skydiving should be left to the pros.

The Best Moments From Felix Baumgartner's Supersonic Jump

Preparations for the big launch begin before sun rise Sunday, Oct. 14. The weather looks good for an early launch, though lift-off is eventually delayed two hours.

Felix steps out of his trailer in a full-pressure and helmet. The parachute pack on his back weights 60 pounds alone.

Felix begins to breath pure oxygen to remove nitrogen from his bloodstream about two hours before launch.

Around 10:45 a.m. the winds are finally calm enough for balloon inflation to begin.

Around 11:30 a.m. a crane releases the capsule attached to the balloon.

The mission crew rejoices!

Felix's mom, Eva, watches her son travel up into the sky. She cried when the balloon launched.

On the two-hour journey to the stratosphere there is some concern that the heater in Felix's visor isn't working, allowing his visor to fog up.

Around 1:40 p.m., the balloon passes its target of 120,000 feet. Felix has already broken one record — highest manned balloon flight — before he even leaves the capsule.

A few minutes later the decision is made that Felix will jump, despite the face-plate heater issue.

Joe Kittinger in mission control runs through an exit check list. He tells Felix to depressurize the space capsule in preparation to open the door.

The space capsule door opens and Felix steps out onto a skateboard-size platform.

And then, he jumps.

Shortly after jumping, we see Felix going into an uncontrolled spin. "That spin became so violent it was hard to know how to get out of it. I was able to get it under control and break the speed of sound," he revealed later.

Over his radio, he tells us that his visor is fogging up.

But everything appears to be ok once we see his signature Red Bull parachute deploy.

Felix makes a beautiful landing and raises his arms in celebration.

His parents (center), girlfriend (far right) and assistant (far left) are elated.

Preliminary data shows that Felix achieved his goal to break the speed of sound, reaching a top of 833.9 mph or Mach 1.24.

Why skydiving should be left to the pros.

These Videos Show Everything That Can Go Wrong When Skydiving >

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