Felix Baumgartner
Austria
Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner made history on October 14, 2012, by jumping from 39,045 meters (approximately 39 km) above New Mexico and breaking the sound barrier during freefall. Part of the Red Bull Stratos project, Baumgartner reached a peak velocity of Mach 1.25 (roughly 1,358 km/h) before safely landing after 4 minutes and 19 seconds of freefall. It was the highest-altitude jump ever performed without a full spacesuit, and over 8 million viewers watched the live YouTube stream worldwide.