Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner leaped from a balloon at an altitude of 13.6 miles on Thursday in Roswell, New Mexico, in a practice jump for a planned attempt later this summer at a a skydiving altitude record. Baumgartner, 42, was in free fall for three minutes and 43 seconds before pulling his rip cord, according to a spokeswoman for the project. Baumgartner, who is sponsored by Red Bull, will eventually try to jump from a balloon 23 miles above the Earth’s surface while wearing a helmet and pressure suit. Colonel Joseph Kittinger, now an adviser to Baumgartner and , set the previous record in 1960 when he jumped from an altitude of 19.5 miles for the Air Force.
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