Skydiving the Speed of Sound Trivia Quiz

Answer: Austria

Felix Baumgartner was born on April 20th 1969 in Salzburg, Austria. Felix is the son of Felix and Eva Baumgartner and as a young boy growing up in Austria he dreamed of skydiving from outer space.

Answer: Roswell, New Mexico

New Mexico and the Land of Enchantment state was chosen as the launch site for the mission. Roswell is a mile above sea level and is characterized by wide open spaces in the southeastern part of the state. Roswell is best known as the site of a purported UFO crash in the summer of 1947. Conspiracy theorists claim that the U.S. government recovered an alien spaceship and potentially its deceased occupants.

The motto of New Mexico is Crescit Eundo, that translates to "It grows as it goes." A fitting motto to attach to the growing legend of Felix Baumgartner.

Answer: Red Bull

Red Bull, like Felix Baumgartner, is Austrian. Austrian entrepreneur, Dietrich Mateschitz, created the company in 1987 as Red Bull GmbH. He was inspired by an existing energy drink from Thailand called Krating Daeng. Red Bull has become the world's most popular energy drink with over 4.5 billion cans sold each year.

The company is a sponsor of a large number of extreme sports events. The Red Bull Stratos Project is fully funded by the company and involves collecting a large amount of scientific data.

The company's slogan is "Red Bull gives you wings," and that was no exageration on October 14th, 2012 when Felix Baumgartner made his historic jump from "near" space.

Answer: 150 minutes

Felix Baumgartner had to wait an agonizing 2 1/2 hours (2:37) for the Red Bull Stratos craft to ascend to a height of 24 miles (128,177 feet) above the Earth's surface. The rate of ascent was around 13.5 feet per second or just over 800 feet per minute. The Stratos Capsule weighed just over 3,000 lbs (1,360 kg). The 40 acres of transparent helium-fueled polyethylene balloon weighed in at 3,708 lbs (1,682 kg) uninflated.

Answer: 1960

Colonel Joseph William Kittinger II was born on July 27th 1928. Kittinger was a United States fighter pilot and served in Vietnam where he spent almost a year in a North Vietnamese prison after being shot down. Aside from being a successful career military officer, Kittinger also participated in Project Excelsior.

This 1960 exercise led to a 19 mile-high jump on August 16th. He was in free fall for 4 minutes and 36 seconds reaching speeds of 614 miles per hour (988 km/h). For the series of jumps he made in the Excelsior Project he was awarded the Flying Cross (his second) and the Harmon Trophy by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Answer: Speed of sound

The Red Bull Stratos team had calculated that Felix would be able to reach 700mph in the first minute of freefall. However, Baumgartner was able to travel even quicker hitting Mach 1.24 during his accelerated freefall. The fall was not without incident, as Felix found himself in an uncontrollable horizontal spin that could have caused him to blackout or rupture his suit. Amazingly, he was able to correct his body position and achieve Mach 1.

Answer: Chuck Yeager

Charles Elwood Yeager was born in Myra, West Virginia on February 13th 1923. On October 14th 1947 he became the first human to experience supersonic flight when he piloted the experimental Bell X-1. Flying at an altitude of 45,000 feet (13,700m), Yeager became the first pilot to break the Mach 1 sound barrier.

In 1953, Scott Crossfield became the first man to fly faster than Mach 2, but Yeager would surpass that record shortly thereafter by recording a Mach 2.44 flight. On October 14th, 2012, the 89-year old Chuck Yeager piloted an F-15 Eagle from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Once more he broke the sound barrier 30,000 feet above the Mojave Desert near to where he originally broke the barrier 65 years earlier. What an amazing story and an amazing coincidence that Felix Baumgartner achieves his historic record on the anniversary of Chuck Yeager's first supersonic flight.

Answer: Stratosphere

Perhaps the name of Baumgartner's spacecraft gave this one away. The initial ascent took Stratos through the troposphere (6-20km - 3.7-12.4miles). Baumgartner then continued his climb to 24 miles (38.6km). The stratosphere is the second layer of the atmosphere that extends from 20km to 50km (12.4-31 miles). Above that the Mesosphere extends to about 85km (52.8 miles) and then in the Thermosphere is the 100km Karman Line that is used to demarcate outer space.

Answer: Longest ever free fall

Amazingly, the one record Felix Baumgartner just missed was the longest freefall record. Baumgartner was in accelerated freefall for 4 minutes and 22 seconds. Colonel Joseph William Kittinger II who was the Mission Commander for the Red Bull Stratos project continued to hold the world record for longest freefall with 4 minutes and 36 seconds after his record-breaking jump from 1960. During Baumgarten's record attempt, Kittinger was the only voice in constant communication with Felix.

Answer: Freefall from International Space Station

Okay the International Space Station may be out of reach for the moment. Then again, scientists have said it is impossible for a human being to break the sound barrier skydiving. Felix Baumgartner continues to push the boundaries of science and sport.

In 1999, he set a world record for the highest parachute jump off a building when he leapt from Malaysia's Petronas Towers. He also successfully achieved a base jump from the hand of the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro which was only 95 feet (29m) high. One of his most spectacular achievements occurred on July 31st 2003, when he became the first man to skydive across the British Channel using a carbon fiber wing. Baumgartner has also been working on cutting edge technology that allows a person to glide long distances using specialized wing structures.