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Today, I had planned to write an entirely different article, about a new watch by Zenith. Instead, I felt it was my duty to speak about a man who just passed away and who became linked to the history of the Swiss brand, when in 2012 he accomplished an unbelievable feat that went down in history. It was the legendary Red Bull Stratos mission. With a Zenith chronograph strapped to his wrist, Felix Baumgartner jumped into the void from a space capsule suspended by a helium balloon, floating in the stratosphere at an altitude of 39 kilometers above Earth. His free fall broke the sound barrier, reaching a speed of 1,343 kilometers per hour, something no one had ever done before.
That project, which ended in success, was by no means the first daring jump by Austrian-born Felix. His passion for parachute jumping had started in his childhood. As early as 1999, he broke his first world record by jumping off the iconic Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A few years later, in 2003, Baumgartner became the first person to fly across the English Channel using custom-built carbon-fiber wings. More records followed, including a 29-meter jump from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a jump from the 91st-floor observatory of Taipei 101, the world’s tallest skyscraper at the time. In fact, because he had not secured permission for that jump, he was banned from entering the country ever again.
Preparations for the Red Bull Stratos mission had started two years earlier, in collaboration with a team of scientists and sponsored by Red Bull. Before attempting his successful jump, Baumgartner completed two test jumps in 2012: the first from 21,818 meters and the second from 29,460 meters. Everything was ready for the scheduled stratospheric jump on October 9, 2012, but due to bad weather, it was postponed and finally took place on the 14th of the same month.
Felix Baumgartner jumped from a height of 39,969.3 meters – a world record at the time – executing a free fall of 36,402.6 meters and opened his parachute for the final 2,566.7 meters before landing in New Mexico, USA.
During his descent, he broke the world record for the fastest free fall, with 1,358 kilometers per hour. He thus became the first man to break the sound barrier outside of a vehicle. His free fall lasted 4 minutes and 19 seconds and was 17 seconds shorter than the previous record set in 1960 by his mentor, Joseph Kittinger.
Watch the breathtaking video…
The Zenith El Primero Stratos Flyback Striking 10th, the chronograph Felix Baumgartner had on his wrist during that historic fall, was functioning flawlessly when he touched the ground. And that, despite the colossal shifts in pressure, temperature, altitude, and acceleration it endured. Another important detail: this was a model from Zenith’s regular collection at the time, not a specially made edition.
Felix Baumgartner lost his life on July 17, 2025, during a paragliding flight in Porto Sant’Elpidio, Italy. He was 56 years old.
