Googler Jumps From Stratosphere, Breaking Baumgartner’s Record

[Buster's Uncle]

Googler Jumps From Stratosphere, Breaking Baumgartner’s Record
The Wall Street Jounal
By Georgia Wells  7:03 pm ET Oct 24, 2014



Google executive Alan Eustace jumped from a helium balloon and fell to earth from over 135,000 feet on Friday, a record.

Eustace ascended to that height attached to the balloon. He then cut himself loose with a small explosive device and fell to earth beneath an orange-and-white parachute.

Eustace, 57, remained in free fall for approximately four minutes and 30 seconds before touching down safely in a field near Roswell, N.M. He landed on his feet, somersaulted, and waved.



Alan Eustace begins his ascent. —Paragon Space Development Corporation


Eustace is a senior vice president at Google. He took a sabbatical from his work at the search giant for the jumping mission. The jump was previously reported by the New York Times.

He is the second person to break the sound barrier outside an aircraft. In 2012, Austrian pilot and sky diver Felix Baumgartner reached a velocity of 833.9 miles an hour while jumping from 128,100 feet. Eustace reached a velocity of 822 miles an hour.

“I always wondered: What if you could design a system that would allow humans to explore the stratosphere as easily and safely as they do the ocean?” Eustace said.

He wore a custom pressurized spacesuit developed by ILC Dover. Paragon Space Development Corporation created the life-support system.

“I hope we’ve encouraged others to explore this part of the world about which we still know so little,” Eustace said.

“I knew I had high performing people working for me,” Google CEO Larry Page wrote on Google+. “But breaking the sound barrier falling in a space suit from a 135,908 foot high balloon ride this morning?”



Alan Eustace before his jump Friday morning. —Paragon Space Development Corporation


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