I watched it live. I turned it on while he was still assending. It took him over two hours for the balloon to reach its maximum height, about 25 miles up. That's 128,000 feet up people. As soon as he opened the door and sat on the jumping platform, I was a mess. I was standing up, pacing back and forth, saying prayers. I have no idea how his wife stayed so calm the entire time. When he jumped and started to freefall, my heart was in my throat. I was so scared. Then, after about two minutes of a completely freefall, he started talking to mission control. I started crying hysterically. (Yes, I'm a crier.) Watching him float through the air was awe-inspiring.
Joseph Kittinger, the man who previously held most of the records Baumgartner was trying to break was the only voice that Baumgartner could hear during the ascent and descent. I loved when Kittinger said "I couldn't have done it better myself."
It is things like this that remind me how absolutely amazing human beings are. We reach for the horizons and can accomplish anything we put our minds too. Thank you Felix for reminding us all how truly amazing we can be.
 |
| "I wish the world could see what I see right now." |
