Felix Baumgartner celebrates after landing safely in the US. Picture: REUTERS
Felix Baumgartner has broken a You Tube record after millions tuned into the video-sharing site to watch the Austrian's death-defying leap from the edge of space.
As Baumgartner stood in the open hatch of a capsule above Earth, 38 kilometres below more than eight million people watched the live stream of the event, according to You Tube.
While the leap wasn't broadcast on any network in the United States, more than 130 digital outlets throughout the world carried the live feed, You Tube said.
The 43-year-old hit a maximum vertical velocity of 1341.97km/h, becoming the first person in the world to go faster than the speed of sound without travelling in a spacecraft or jet. Around half of Baumgartner's descent was a freefall of 36,529 metres.
After he landed safely in the US state of New Mexico, Baumgartner said travelling faster than sound is "hard to describe because you don't feel it".
He added: "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.
"The only thing you want is to come back alive."