Baumgartner Free-Falls 24 Miles

He made it! Daredevil Felix Baumgartner survived a leap from 24 miles above the earth Sunday. He rode a balloon to an altitude of 120,000 feet this afternoon, then stepped out of the capsule and free-fell most of the distance back to earth—the highest jump ever accomplished by man. On the way down, he reached speeds in excess of 700 miles per hour and may have become the first sky diver to break the sound barrier. Baumgartner broke the jump record set in 1960, when Joe Kittinger jumped from 102,800 feet. Some previous attempts to break the record have ended in death.