In 2005, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner and Red Bull began the process of planning a record-setting jump from 120,000 feet. Their dream was realized Oct. 14.

In a historic leap from more than 24 miles above the Earth’s surface, Baumgartner jumped from a stratospheric balloon, broke the sound barrier and managed to safely land on his feet in the New Mexico desert. He would hit Mach 1.24, or 833.9 mph, passing the speed of sound, which is about 761 mph.

Dubbed the Red Bull Stratos project, Red Bull and Baumgartner’s mission was to “attempt to transcend human limits that have existed for 50 years.” The Stratos project was successful, the mission becoming the first time a person has reached supersonic speed without being in a spacecraft or jet.

Baumgartner stood at the edge of his pod in his pressurized spacesuit, gave the thumbs up and jumped. For the first 30 seconds or so, he would spin out of control as he struggled to stabilize himself, trying various techniques, at first to no avail.

“In that situation, when you spin around, it’s like hell and you don’t know if you can get out of the spin or not,” Baumgartner said afterward. “Of course it was terrifying. I was fighting all the way down because I knew that there must be a moment where I can handle it.”

Anxious viewers would watch him stabilize and complete a successful jump, however.

Baumgartner began skydiving at the age of 16 and is considered a veteran skydiver, having jumped more than 2,500 times in his career. In 1988 he started working with Red Bull doing skydiving exhibitions, who liked his daredevil mentality and spirit.

At the age of 43, he was able to break an important record with the help of his long collaboration with Red Bull. Now that the jump is over, Baumgartner plans to settle down with his girlfriend and fly helicopter missions for mountain rescue and firefighting missions.

More than eight million people watched the jump on YouTube, while all the major news networks covered live broadcasts of the jump Sunday morning. America, and the world, was able to watch the death-defying jump live from multiple angles, thanks to years and years of preparation and hard work.

Jordan Johnson, president of the DePaul skydiving club, was especially appreciative of everything that went into making the mission successful.

“Most people don’t know he spent five years training for that jump. So everything he did in that situation he had practiced hundreds of times in preparation for that jump,” said Johnson. “He dedicated five years of his life to set that record, which is the definition of dedication.

“He is an inspiration to the sport of skydiving and hopefully will cause a great new interest in skydiving,” said Johnson. “Seeing all the coverage was amazing and it makes me look forward to how others will push the limit in the future.”

The Stratos project assembled a team of the world’s leading scientists, as well as top engineers, experts in aerospace medicine, and experts to design the pressurized suit, capsule, balloon and parachute. Everything designed for the jump used innovative science and technology to assure that it would go off without a hitch and that Baumgartner would be as safe as possible.

The Stratos team included Joseph Kittinger, retired United States Air Force colonel who previously held the record that Baumgartner broke. Kittinger successfully jumped from 102,800 feet in 1960 and was a key part of the mission, his voice in Baumgartner’s ear from start to finish of the jump.

Coverage of the event showed the Stratos team assembled in a large control room as they monitored the jump. The room looked very similar to a high-tech NASA control room that you would see for any space mission. Many were impressed by the jump, but expressed doubt in Red Bull’s motivation for funding the project.

“The jump was very significant, but also product placement has now been moved into space,” said DePaul graduate Garrick Schmitt, a former research assistant and lab manager for Dr. John Burke.

Freelance space writer Amy Shira Teitel said, “At the end of the day, it was just an elaborate publicity stunt that will likely see Red Bull sales skyrocket this month.” Teitel said the mission was called a jump from space, and that it would enable us to learn if astronauts could jump from the International Space Station in an emergency, but these are misconceptions. The jump was conducted in Earth’s atmosphere, not space. Space is considered to be around 62 miles from the Earth’s surface, while the jump was conducted at 24 miles above the Earth. Also, the International Space Station orbits 200 miles above the Earth.

While Red Bull’s motivation in advancing space technology is up to the individual to decide, most consider the jump to be a huge feat and, at the very least, largely entertaining. A former biology major and lab assistant at Loyola University, Erin Prak recently graduated from Middlebury College. Prak thought the jump was simple incredible.

“It was a great testament to the potential for humans to achieve amazing feats with help and innovation in science and technology,” said Prak. “It just goes to show you that there are still frontiers to cross.”