This is the first footage from brave Felix Baumgartner's suit camera as he descended to Earth. It starts right after the jump and shows the moment in which Felix breaks the speed of sound and spins out of control.
Truly terrifying stuff. And awesome too.
According to Red Bull Stratos, Felix said he thought he was going to lose consciousness at one point because of the violent spinning:
"There was a time I really thought I was in trouble. I had to decide to fight all the way down and I finally got stable.
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.
I could feel myself break the speed of sound. I could feel the air building up and then I hit it."*—Felix Baumgartner
Fortunately, he managed to control the spin—somehow!—and look down to Earth, keeping a steady descent course. The video shows that moment, too.
Felix is now the first man on the planet to break the speed of sound with no mechanical propulsion—just him and Earth's gravity. He also broke the record for the highest manned flight in a balloon, the highest free fall jump and the fastest descent.
We took the German TV commentary off—it was on Red Bull-owned Austrian TV channel Servus—and added the actual audio from the event, synchronized with the video. The original video was removed from YouTube shortly after it was posted.
You can watch a summary of the jump and Felix's records here. [Thanks RutherfordTheBrave!]
* The last quote, posted by Red Bull Stratos, contradicts Felix's words during the press conference.