Going Up T e trip to the stratosphere takes a little more than two hours. So Baumgartner has plenty of time to think about what’s next. He goes over the mission with his team on the ground. So far, so good. Finally, he reaches 39 km above the ground.


T e balloon stops rising. T e capsule door rolls open. He steps out onto a narrow ledge. It’s barely as wide as a skateboard. Above him, space looks pitch black. Below


him, he sees the curve of Earth’s surface. He has no time to hesitate. He’s only got enough oxygen for about 10 more minutes. “I’m coming home,” he says. He salutes. T en he hops forward.


Force of a Fall At first, Baumgartner feels like he’s floating. In fact, he’s speeding toward the ground. T at’s because Earth’s gravity is pulling on him. Gravity is a continuous force that attracts


objects to each other. It pulls them together. T e bigger the object, the more powerful its gravitational force. Earth’s gravity tugs on the skydiver as he


falls through the air. Its pull is strong. Plus, there’s no opposing force to slow him down. With little air pressure, there’s nothing to stop him. So he falls faster and faster. Inside his suit, he doesn’t feel a thing.


He doesn’t hear a thing. He sees something, though. He sees that he’s in trouble.


air pressure: the force of air pressing on a surface


continuous force: a force that pushes or pulls on an object constantly


Spinning About 30 seconds into the fall, Baumgartner starts to spin. It looks like he’s doing cartwheels in the sky. Soon, he’s whipping around 60 times a minute. If he spins too fast, he could faint. An emergency parachute would open, so


he wouldn’t smash into the ground. He’d have failed, though. T e parachute would slow his fall. He wouldn’t break any speed records. So he fights for control. He sticks out an


arm. T at doesn’t help. He just spins faster. He tucks his first arm in and tries the other arm. T is time, the spin slows and finally stops. Even as he fights the spin, he makes history.


He falls 1,358 km per hour. It’s a speed record! No human has ever gone that fast outside of a plane or other vehicle.


Landing Now Baumgartner’s speed slows. He’s closer to Earth. T e air is thicker here. T e molecules are closer together. T ey push up against him, creating a drag force. T is force acts against the pull of gravity. Gravity is stronger, so he’s still falling. But he’s no longer speeding up. When he reaches 1.5 km above the ground,


he opens his parachute. His free fall is over. He floats the rest of the way to the ground. Nine minutes and 18 seconds aſt er he


jumped, he safely lands on the ground. He pumps his fist in the air. All the planning, the fear, and the thrill were worth it. “Adventure,” he says, “is how we learn.”


drag: a force that opposes motion gravity: a force that pulls objects toward it stratosphere: a layer of Earth’s atmosphere


14 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER


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