PARACHUTE - FIRST DESCENT

A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon.

It was originally coined, as a hybrid word which meant literally "that which protects against a fall," by the French aeronaut François Blanchard (1753–1809) in 1785.

In 1797, André Garnerin made the first descent using such a parachute. Garnerin also invented the vented parachute, which improved the stability of the fall and frameless parachute.

Garnerin performed the daring feat on October 22, 1797 at Parc Monceau in Paris using a seven-metre silk parachute. He was lifted up in a basket which was attached to a balloon and after reaching 3,000 feet, he released the balloon to let the parachute unfurled above him. Although he had a bumpy landing, he emerged unhurt and became the first parachutist.

An Austrian daredevil plummeted into the record books Oct. 14 2012, breaking the mark for highest-ever skydive after leaping from a balloon more than 24 miles above Earth's surface. Add one more feat: Going supersonic.

Felix Baumgartner stepped into the void nearly 128,000 feet (39,000 meters) above southeastern New Mexico Sunday at just after 12 p.m. MT (2 p.m. ET, 1800  GMT), then landed safely on the desert floor about 20 minutes later. His harrowing plunge shattered the skydiving altitude record, which had stood for more than 50 years, and it notched a few other firsts as well. The jump's top speed was thus Mach 1.24 — considerably faster than the speed of sound. Applause and cheers erupted in a post-jump press conference as Utley relayed the good news.