This man just destroyed Felix Baumgartner's skydiving world record

A Google executive has broken the skydiving record set by Felix Baumgartner two years ago and the sound barrier after jumping to earth from the very edge of space.

Alan Eustace, Google's senior vice president of knowledge, leapt to the earth from 25 miles above New Mexico. In the 15 minutes it took him to hit the ground, he broke the speed of sound and reached speeds of more than 1,300km/h. The jump from 135,890 feet broke Mr Baumgartner's record of a jump from nearly 128,000 feet.

"It was amazing," he told the New York Times.

"It was beautiful. You could see the darkness of space and you could see the layers of atmosphere, which I had never seen before."

Friday's jump had been planned in secret over the last three years in conjunction with Paragon Space Development Corp and its Stratospheric Explorer team. Mr Eustace was wearing a specially designed space suit which allowed him to reach the edge of the stratosphere.

Additional reporting: AP