Posted on 02/07/2012 11:05:54 AM PST by DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis
Basejumper Felix Baumgartner will attempt to break the speed of sound by freefalling from the edge of space, nearly 23 miles up, above Roswell.
It is the ultimate in parachute jumps: from the edge of space, Felix Baumgartner will leap from a balloon, plummeting to the ground 120,000 feet below.
Currently preparing in New Mexico, Baumgartner - who has previously made headlines with the lowest base jump ever recorded, off the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and for crossing the English Channel in freefall - was calmness personified as he explained what the incredible leap will involve.
He said: "We're going up to 120,000 feet in a pressurised capsule hanging underneath a helium balloon and at altitude the balloon will level off.
"I'm going to step off that capsule, fall down for a couple of minutes and hopefully I'm going to break the speed of sound."
To be more precise, after 35 seconds he will expect to break the sound barrier, and finally, at 5,000 feet he will deploy a parachute and – hopefully – land safely on the ground.
During his 10-minute journey to earth the Austrian will travel at more than 690 miles per hour inside a special suit, which must protect him from temperatures as low as -94 degrees F.
He will rely on its oxygen tanks as the air is too thin to breathe – and hope that the sheer force of the fall does not make him blackout.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
bttt
Hope is not a plan. Although that little fact has become obscured since about 2008.
So, he is going to go from 0 to 690mph in 35 secounds?!
When he breaks the sound barrier. Every organ in his body will explode.
Almost sounds like something out of the book “Starship Troopers” where combat drops were made from space in personal aeroshells.
Yep. What a loon.
It would be very surprising if this idiot were to survive...
The speed of sound is not constant. It is faster in denser air and slower in less dense air. Basically, that 690MPH figure is only at low elevations...much slower than that at very high altitudes.
Havn’t you ever noticed at high elevations, like on a mountain, you see things before you hear the sound they make? Like someone dribbling a basket ball say 35 yards away at elevations over 5000feet. You hear the ball hit the pavement about the same time you see the ball half way between the person’s hand and the pavement.
Yep ... 32 ft/s/s adds up.
He just jumped to the top of the Darwin Waiting List.
With all the new technology, I don't know what's taken it so long for somebody to try it again.
-— Hope is not a plan. Although that little fact has become obscured since about 2008-—
Works in politics. In engineering, not so much.
This was done before a half century ago:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sky=mrdr&site=webhp&q=freefall+space+youtube&oq=freefall+space+you&aq=0v&aqi=g-v1&aql=1&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=6407l19373l0l20829l21l21l0l3l3l0l406l4061l2-10.2.2l14l0
CAPT (later COL) Joseph Kittinger jumped from something like 102 kft during Project Excelsior ... he used a drogue chute to prevent spinning. This also prevented him going supersonic.
There should be cheaper ways to apply Darwin Awards...
Been done before... Not sure that guy tried to break the sound barrier, but he did survive the trip.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Excelsior
Joe Kittinger has held the record for over 50 years at over 102,000 feet. He did three high altitude test jumps to see if a drogue chute would stop high altitude ejection flat spin and almost died on one of the jumps. The final one, his pressure suit failed and his hand froze at the minus 94 degree temperature experienced.
If this guy goes about 16% higher, but 50 years later, I still think Kittinger has the bigger brass.
What kind of aerodynamic structure will he be in to protect against friction ripping him apart?
Teachers Union reply: "People today are so much smarter and better educated! That's why no one tries stuff like this!"
Conservative reply: "People today lack courage! Years ago, Americans thrived on bold action!"
X-gamer reply: "Dude! Can I use my wingsuit?"
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