So Red Bull might not give you wings, but the Austrian energy drink maker gave Felix Baumgartner the ability to make the gutsiest skydive in history today. The 24-mile jump through space that's been dubbed the Red Bull Stratos was delayed by fierce winds earlier in the week, but today it happened. It was one step for man, one giant freefall through space for mankind. Not to mention the greatest PR stunt pulled off since Hulk Hogan's sex tape made him relevant again (OK, so that was just this morning, but still ...).
Have you seen Apollo 13? Remember how freaked out Ed Harris was waiting to hear from Tom Hanks and his buddies during their return to earth inside a NASA-built tin can? Red Bull convinced a guy to do it with nothing but a pressurized space suit between him and all those layers of atmosphere.
And he did it!
Baumgartner actually got his butt safely to the desert in New Mexico. It took him just a few minutes to fall about 128,097 feet, but he's still alive. Once it's confirmed, Baumgartner's crazy skydive is expected to be listed as the highest ever jump. There's also the possiblity that he'll be listed as the first human to break the speed of sound for reaching speeds of 707 miles per hour.
For Baumgartner, there's no feat that can likely equal that.
As for Red Bull, I want to know the marketing genius who got this thing moving. It's public relations gold. They managed to get a scientific feat, that the entire world watched, stamped with their company name.
It was a gamble -- can you imagine if the suit had ripped and Baumgartner succumbed to the lack of oxygen and insane pressure on re-entry (OK, I don't want to think about it either)? It could easily have been the dumbest PR move ever if things had gone wrong. Instead, Baumgartner's success, and the scientific significance to this dive, mean it paid off big time for Red Bull.
When I think of companies who have done any better, maybe Macy's with their Thanksgiving Day Parade beats Red Bull -- it does happen every single year -- but that may be it.
Can you think of a feat that comes close to this? Was Red Bull smart here or was it too risky?
Image via TheMrMeLK0m/YouTube
This Hot Dad Wants to Do Your Ironing
This Hot Dad Wants to Cook You Dinner
This Hot Dad Cooks AND Does the Dishes
Kanye West is Gay?! 
Comments 14
It's not like Red Bull planned the whole thing. They just sponsored it. The obviously made sure there were PLENTY of scientists and tons of research that went into it. Plus Felix WANTED to do this. He's an extreme sports athlete, he's done a ton of crazy things. This article makes it sound like they tricked him into it or something. Also they're saying he reached 833mph, not 707.
It's embarassing because I could TELL you have no idea what you're talking about in this article. Please tell us what happens had this man succumbed to pressure changes upon reentry...without googling it.
I agree with the other commenters. This was not a PR stunt. In addition to what the other commenters said, Baumgartner was also testing this new type of pressurized suit for future space missions. It was a scientific experiment that happened to break world records, so it gained a lot of publicity in the process
i don't normally attack the writers on this blog because opinions are allowed but maybe you should have researched how much time and energy went into planning this to make sure he was as absolutely as safe as possible during this. Maybe don't focus on the negative things that didn't happen and focus on the sheer awesomeness of the feat.