Super Bowl XLVIII is almost upon us and that means awesome football and awesome commercials, including one by the camera company GoPro that retells the spectacular supersonic "space jump" by daredevil skydiver Felix Baumgartner.
GoPro's Super Bowl commercial features stunning video from Baumgartner's record-breaking freefall from 24 miles (39 kilometers) up on Oct. 14, 2012 during the Red Bull Stratos mission. During the skydive, he accelerated from 0 to 843.6 mph (1,357 km/h) — that's Mach 1.25 — in just 50 seconds. GoPro's 30-second Super Bowl commercial features only some of the truly head-spinning views captured by seven GoPro HERO2 video cameras that chronicled the jump. [See photos from the Red Bull Stratos supersonic jump]
You can see the spot here:
"From the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of Earth's atmosphere, GoPro cameras make it possible to capture all of life's incredible moments," GoPro officials said in a press release. "GoPro's Super Bowl XLVIII commercial documents one man's extraordinary courage to jump from the edge of space—with GoPro cameras recording every record-breaking moment."
Red Bull Stratos officials at the time billed Baumgartner's feat as a "space jump," or a skydive "from the edge of space," though Baumgartner actually leaped from the Earth's upper atmosphere. That does not, however, make Baumgartner's achievement — or the views from the cameras he wore — any less amazing.
A longer GoPro video, also released today, chronicles Baumgartner's entire supersonic freefall — from leap to touchdown — with breathtaking clarity. You can watch the eight-minute video here:
The image of the Earth reflected on Baumgartner's helmet faceplate is one of the highlights. The views even capture the harrowing spin Baumgartner experienced as he plummeted toward Earth on his back until he could regain control and flip over into a stable, Earth-facing position.
"From the airless freeze of outer space, to the record-breaking free fall and momentous return to ground—see it all through Felix's eyes as captured by GoPro, and experience this incredible mission like never before," GoPro officials said.
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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