Skydiver preparing for 120,000-foot supersonic fall

[babylonsister]

Skydiver preparing for 120,000-foot supersonic fall
From Dugald McConnell and Brian Todd, CNN


New York (CNN) -- An Austrian daredevil is planning to become the first person to break the sound barrier in a free fall, without riding in a vehicle.

This summer in New Mexico, Felix Baumgartner hopes to make the highest, longest and fastest fall ever.

His attempt will take him to an altitude where the atmosphere ends and space begins -- where blood boils at body temperature, and the air temperature could be as low as minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

The first step in the attempt will be riding a helium balloon to an altitude of 120,000 feet above sea level -- almost 23 miles -- higher than anyone has ascended in a balloon before.

Then, wearing a pressurized suit and oxygen tanks, he plans to jump out of his capsule for a five-minute fall back to Earth. Within the first 30 seconds, he expects to be falling faster than the speed of sound, which at that altitude is around 690 miles per hour. Crossing that barrier would mark a new test of the limits of the human body.

"This is what we want to find out: What happens to the human body when it breaks the speed of sound," Baumgartner said. "That's a big question mark."

:crazy:

more...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/21/supersonic.skydive/

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Here's a preview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90Y0_iJrRl0&feature=related

[Ian David]

2. Oh, yeah....

A potential benefit from the mission, he said, would be demonstrating that it is possible to return from space without a spacecraft.

"In the future, a lot more tourists will go and travel to space. And if something goes wrong with their spacecraft, they have to return to Earth somehow," he said. "We will show to the world that egress from high altitude is survivable."

That's how I want to end a trip into space as a tourist-- with a five-minute fall through near vacuum.

[Adsos Letter]

4. It isn't the fall; it's the quick stop at the bottom.

:D

[zipplewrath]

6. It's a silly comment

This is a stunt, and any relation to science, research, or development is purely accidental. More power to him, but there isn't much to be learned here. The problem with re-entry is not the lack of air. Quite the opposite, it is that orbital speeds are so fast, so when you reach some air, you heat up. This guy is jumping out of a ballon, no where near orbital speeds. Darn close to zero air speed actually.

More power to him. It should be a hellofa ride. But he's "in" a "spacecraft". It's called a pressure suit. People return from space travel all the time, the spacecraft just isn't as flexible.

[Evasporque]

9. "catch a falling star and put it in your pocket..." ..nt

[Lance_Boyle]

3. 18K beyond where Kittinger left his baloon platform in 1960. Wow.

I hope this attempt ends well. It should be one hell of a ride.

[Ian David]

5. I predict his limbs will be torn off his body. n/t

[Webster Green]

7. Daredevil.

I've got a feeling the devil is going to win this one.

[KittyWampus]

8. at least they're not forcing an unfortunate monkey to be the first primate.