Austrian adventurer Felix Baumgartner, in coordination with Red Bull Stratos, went where no man has gone before yesterday. Baumgartner frefalled from a capsule, which had been lifted by a balloon, from a height of nearly 23 miles above the Earth wearing only a pressurized suit. Fearless Felix’s successful Red Bull Stratos skydive set records for the highest jump and highest manned balloon flight (128,100 ft), fastest speed of free fall at 834 mph, making Baumgartner the first human to break the speed of sound unassisted. If you missed the jaw-dropping event, you can watch highlights of Felix Baumgartner’s Red Bull Stratos skydive in the video below.

Felix Baumgartner’s Red Bull Stratos Skydive Highlights [VIDEO]

Felix Baumgartner’s Red Bull Stratos Skydive Headcam [VIDEO]

Former NASA flight surgeon Jonathan Clark, who served as the medical officer for Baumgartner’s Red Bull Stratos mission, said nothing about the jump was simple.

“This was not an easy task,” Clark said. “The world needs a hero, and today they got one.”

“Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are,” a grinning Baumgartner told reporters outside Red Bull mission control after the jump.

Known around the world as “Fearless Felix,” the former helicopter pilot and soldier had BASE jumped from landmarks like the Petronas Towers in Malaysia and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. In 2003, he donned a carbon fiber wing, jumped from a plane, and became the first man to skydive across the English Channel.

For yesterday’s stunt, Felix prepared physically, mentally and logistically for five years. He completed practice falls from 71,581 feet (21,818 m) this past March and then from 97,146 feet (29,610 m) on July 25 — both far below his record yesterday.

Baumgartner was originally supposed to attempt the jump Monday (Oct. 8), but that launch, along with another attempt Tuesday (Oct. 9), were trashed because of winds. Moderate breezes of 2 miles per hour and above can damage the enormous balloon, which is made of material 10 times thinner than a plastic sandwich bag, according to Red Bull Stratos officials.

“When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about breaking records anymore, you do not think about gaining scientific data,” he said after the jump. “The only thing you want is to come back alive.”

Felix proved, despite common perception, the sky is not the limit.