Felix Baumgartner was an Austrian skydiver, BASE jumper, extreme sports athlete, pilot, and motorsport competitor best known for his participation in the Red Bull Stratos program and for becoming the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall.

Born in Salzburg, Austria, he was the son of Eva Baumgartner and had a younger brother, Gerard. At an early age he became interested in flying and parachuting. He later served in the Austrian military, where he received parachute training and developed precision landing skills.

Baumgartner built an international reputation through high-risk parachuting and BASE jumping activities. In 1999 he set a record for the highest parachute jump from a building after jumping from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On 20 July 2003 he became the first person to cross the English Channel gliding on a specially designed carbon-fiber wing. He also performed a jump from the hand of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, setting a record for the lowest BASE jump. In 2004 he became the first person to BASE jump from the completed Millau Viaduct in France. In 2006 he became the first person to skydive onto and then BASE jump from the Turning Torso building in Malmö, Sweden. In 2007 he carried out an unauthorized BASE jump from the 91st-floor observation deck of Taipei 101, then the tallest completed building in the world, which resulted in a ban from re-entering Taiwan.

Beginning in 2005, Baumgartner worked with Red Bull and a multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, physicians, and technicians on the Red Bull Stratos project. The program was designed to conduct a series of high-altitude balloon ascents and freefall jumps to gather data relevant to future aerospace operations, pressure-suit performance, and emergency high-altitude escape procedures.

Preparation for the project included overcoming severe claustrophobia associated with prolonged confinement in a pressurized suit. He completed two major test jumps in 2012: one from 21,818 meters in March and another from 29,460 meters in July.

The project's final mission took place on 14 October 2012. Suspended beneath a helium balloon, Baumgartner ascended in a pressurized capsule to approximately 38,969 meters above New Mexico. More than nine million viewers followed the event online. After stepping from the capsule, he entered freefall and reached a maximum speed of 1,357.64 km/h (Mach 1.25), becoming the first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power. He also established records for exit altitude, freefall distance without a drogue parachute, and freefall speed. During the descent he experienced a brief uncontrolled spin before stabilizing and continuing the jump. After 4 minutes and 19 seconds of freefall he deployed his parachute and landed safely.

His altitude record was surpassed in 2014 by Alan Eustace, while his records for freefall speed and freefall distance remained associated with his name.

Baumgartner stated after the Stratos mission that he did not intend to continue pursuing higher-altitude jumps. He regarded the project as the culmination of his career in extreme parachuting.

After Red Bull Stratos, he first joined Audi Motorsport, driving an Audi R8 LMS in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring after previous competition in Volkswagen Polo racing. His team finished ninth overall. However, his late years were devoted to pursue a lifelong dream: to be a professional helicopter pilot and one of the very few in the world capable of executing extreme aerobatic maneuvers. As a key member of the elite Flying Bulls team, he performed in airshows across the globe.

His public life also included some controversy due to his statements regarding democracy, refugees, and European politics. Also, after disputes concerning Austrian tax treatment of athletes, he relocated to Arbon, Switzerland in 2013.

Baumgartner died on 17 July 2025 at the age of 56 during a powered paragliding flight near Porto Sant'Elpidio on Italy's Adriatic coast. Initial reports suggested possible equipment failure or a medical emergency. Subsequent investigation by Italian authorities determined that the paraglider was functioning correctly and that the accident resulted from human error. Investigators concluded that Baumgartner entered a spiral dive, lost altitude rapidly, and was unable to recover. He died from injuries sustained on impact, including a fatal spinal injury. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

Launch base	Date	Flight Duration	Experiment	Payload landing place or cause of the failure
Roswell (NM)	3/13/2012	---	RED BULL STRATOS I - (Baumgartner)	Balloon failure at launch
Roswell (NM)	3/15/2012	---	RED BULL STRATOS I - (Baumgartner)	20 miles E of Roswell, New Mexico, US
Roswell (NM)	7/25/2012	---	RED BULL STRATOS II - (Baumgartner)	Near Roswell, New Mexico, US
Roswell (NM)	10/9/2012	---	RED BULL STRATOS III - (Baumgartner)	Ground Abort. Balloon destroyed by a gust of wind during inflation
Roswell (NM)	10/14/2012	---	RED BULL STRATOS III - (Baumgartner)	37 miles E of Roswell, New Mexico, US