Austrian Felix Baumgartner has completed a record-breaking skydive, jumping from a helium balloon 39 kilometers above the Earth.

"On a mission like this, you need to be mentally fit and have total control over what you do, and I'm preparing very thoroughly" Baumgartner, 43, said on his website before the jump.  

The entire descent - from the stratosphere to New Mexico - took a mere 10 minutes. His parachute opened to help him through the last phase of the journey.

With this successful jump, dubbed "Mission to the Edge of Space" on his website, the Austrian daredevil outdid retired US Air Force Col Joe Kittinger, breaking his 1960 record.

Baumgartner spent a little over 4 minutes in freefall, achieving speeds of  1,713 km per hour.