<P> Felix Baumgartner ( German : ( ˈfeːlɪks ˈbaʊ̯mˌɡaɐ̯tnɐ ) ; born 20 April 1969 ) is an Austrian skydiver , daredevil , and BASE jumper . He is best known for jumping to Earth from a helium balloon in the stratosphere on 14 October 2012 . Doing so , he set world records for skydiving an estimated 39 km ( 24 mi ) , reaching an estimated top speed of 1,357.64 km / h ( 843.6 mph ) , or Mach 1.25 . He became the first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power relative to the surface on his descent . He broke skydiving records for exit altitude , vertical freefall distance without drogue , and vertical speed without drogue . Though he still holds the two latter records , the first was broken two years later , when on 24 October 2014 , Alan Eustace jumped from 135,890 feet -- or , 41.42 km ( 25.74 mi ) with a drogue . </P>
who is the guy that jumped from space
Felix Baumgartner