“Google executive Alan Eustace broke the sound barrier and set several skydiving records over the southern New Mexico desert early Friday after taking a big leap from the edge of space. Eustace's supersonic jump was part of a project by Paragon Space Development Corp. and its Stratospheric Explorer team, which has been working secretly for years to develop a self-contained commercial spacesuit that would allow people to explore some 20 miles above the Earth's surface. Friday's success marked a major step forward in that effort, company officials said. “This has opened up endless possibilities for humans to explore previously seldom visited parts of our stratosphere”, Grant Anderson, Paragon president and CEO, said in a statement. The technology that has gone into developing the balloon, the spacesuit and the other systems that were used in Friday's launch will be used to advance commercial spaceflight, namely efforts by Arizona-based World View Enterprises to take paying tourists up in a high-altitude balloon and luxury capsule starting in late 2016. As more people head into the stratosphere, the spacesuits could be adapted for emergency rescues or other scientific endeavors, officials said”. – The Associated Press

In this October 20, 2014 photo provided by Paragon Space Development Corporation, Google executive Alan Eustace is shown before a test flight for his Friday, October 24, 2014 leap from the edge of space that broke the sound barrier and set several skydiving records over the southern New Mexico desert outside Roswell. Eustace's supersonic jump was part of a project by Paragon Space Development Corp. and its Stratospheric Explorer team, which has been working secretly for years to develop a self-contained commercial spacesuit that would allow people to explore some 20 miles above the Earth's surface. (Photo by AP Photo/Paragon Space Development Corporation)

In this photo provided by Paragon Space Development Corporation, Google executive Alan Eustace, in the spacesuit, is shown with crew members Blikkies Blignaut, left, and Alex Garbino in preparation his leap from the edge of space that broke the sound barrier and set several skydiving records over the southern New Mexico desert outside Roswell Friday, October 24, 2014. (Photo by AP Photo/Paragon Space Development Corporation)

In this photo provided by Paragon Space Development Corporation, Google executive Alan Eustace, in the spacsuit, is shown with crewmember Mitch Sweeney in preparation his leap from the edge of space that broke the sound barrier and set several skydiving records over the southern New Mexico desert ourside Roswell Friday, October 24, 2014. (Photo by AP Photo/Paragon Space Development Corporation)

In this photo provided by Paragon Space Development Corporation, a balloon is prepared that will carry Google executive Alan Eustace into the stratosphere in his leap from the edge of space that broke the sound barrier and set several skydiving records over the southern New Mexico desert outside Roswell Friday, October 24, 2014. (Photo by AP Photo/Paragon Space Development Corporation)

In this photo provided by Paragon Space Development Corporation, Google executive Alan Eustace, in the spacsuit, is carried aloft by a balloon for his leap from the edge of space that broke the sound barrier and set several skydiving records over the southern New Mexico desert outside Roswell Friday, October 24, 2014. (Photo by AP Photo/Paragon Space Development Corporation)

Google's vice president Alan Eustace looks out of his spacesuit into the stratosphere prior to a record-breaking skydive over New Mexico, in this still image taken from video October 24, 2014, a handout courtesy of the Paragon Space Development Corporation. Eustace was lifted up 135,890 ft (41,420 metres) by an enormous balloon while wearing a specially designed pressurized space suit, the Paragon Space Development Corporation said. Eustace remained in a free fall for approximately 4.5 minutes before landing safely nearly 70 miles (43.4 kms) from his launch point, setting a world record for the highest skydive and breaking the sound barrier in the process. Eustace landed safely on the ground just 15 minutes after he was lifted into the air. (Photo by Reuters/Paragon Space Development Corporation)