Tech That Powered Felix Baumgartner's Epic Skydive

Free-falling from an altitude of 120,000 feet is no mean feat. State-of-the-art technology was used in all departments to ensure the success and safety of Baumgartner as he seeked to set records and gather vital information for future space exploration. Here are some of the crucial components that propelled him into stardom:

1) Chest Pack

Filled with all kinds of gadgets, the chest pack attached to his suit tracked Felix's speed, altitude and location and conveyed it back to mission control. It contained the data monitoring and capture from long distances. The GPS systems and voice transmission mechanisms were integrated into the chest pack, along with a HD camera that gave a view of his faceplate and the ground below.

2) Visual Communications

Cameras and communication systems had a huge part to play. The capsule itself had 9 HD cameras, along with three 4K cinematography cameras and 3 high-resolution still cameras.But that wasn't enough! He had 2 HD video cameras attached to his thighs along with the one on his chest pack. The cameras used were modified to sustain themselves in extreme temperatures and altitudes, some encased in nitrogen to simulate the environment on earth. The capsule's cameras recorded directly to a solid-state RAM, which was then streamed for live viewing on earth. Riedel communications provided the entire solution as a unified communications infrastructure, offering decentralized communications in broadcast-level audio quality. Video transmission was done using Riedel MediorNet, a fiber-based data network for HD video,audio and data signals.

3) The Ultimate Suit

When you're diving from outer space, you need one hell of a spacesuit! First, to endure the extreme temperatures of 120,000 feet, the suit was designed to protect from biting -90°F to scorching 100°F. A “controller”in the suit intelligently controlled internal suit pressure to adjust to various altitudes. The suit was pressurized to 3.5 pounds per square inch to prevent the diver's tissues from turning into gas. The visor in the helmet is also fitted with a heating system to prevent fogging, which unfortunately did not function well during the actual jump. The helmet also has oxygen regulators, which attach to various oxygen sources to provide Felix with oxygen throughout the whole journey.

You can find out more about the technology of Red Bull Stratos here. What did you find exciting about the skydive? Let us know in the comments below!