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Alan Eustace Jumps From Stratosphere, Breaking Felix Baumgartner’s World Record

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/25/science/alan-eustace-jumps-from-stratosphere-breaking-felix-baumgartners-world-record.html?_r=0

Quote

ROSWELL, N.M. — A well-known computer scientist parachuted from a balloon near the top of the stratosphere on Friday, falling faster than the speed of sound and breaking the world altitude record set just two years ago.

The jump was made by Alan Eustace, 57, a senior vice president at Google. At dawn he was lifted by a balloon filled with 35,000 cubic feet of helium, from an abandoned runway at the airport here.

For a little over two hours, the balloon ascended at speeds up to 1,600 feet per minute to an altitude of 135,908 feet, more than 25 miles. Mr. Eustace dangled underneath in a specially designed spacesuit with an elaborate life-support system. He returned to earth just 15 minutes after starting his fall. .

“It was amazing,” he said. “It was beautiful. You could see the darkness of space and you could see the layers of atmosphere, which I had never seen before.”

Mr. Eustace cut himself loose from the balloon with the aid of a small explosive device and plummeted toward the earth at a speeds that peaked at more than 800 miles per hour, setting off a small sonic boom heard by observers on the ground.



Discuss.

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Love it. Kittenger's record stands for decades. He then helps Baumgartner break it with years of planning, hype, and hoopla. The next thing we know. an Internet billionaire quietly spends enough money to break it two years later. Money can't buy me love. But it can sure buy lots of joy!
Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

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Where is the video? You only see a small lift off then a balloon up high. something doesn't smell legit to me. Anyone here involved? Would like to hear from James Hayhurst

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

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catfishhunter

Where is the video? You only see a small lift off then a balloon up high. something doesn't smell legit to me. Anyone here involved? Would like to hear from James Hayhurst



Well, unless the Times is making up quotes, Hayhurst was involved in certifying the record.

Quote

James Hayhurst, director of competition at the United States Parachute Association, who verified the record, described the venture as “legitimate science.”

“I think they’re putting a little lookout tower at the edge of space that the common man can share,” he said.


"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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I like the lower tech approach (relatively speaking). While it sounds like some serious engineering went into the suit, eliminating the capsule from the equation entirely is interesting.

It requires more out of the suit, but it also seems (at first blush) to eliminate some layers of complexity from the jump. Fewer moving parts prone to murphy's law, so to speak.

Makes you wonder what would happen if you put a fixed wing on the jumpers back--how far horizontally could they go from that alt?

World record for longest cross country distance covered by a human in freefall sounds like the next mountain to climb to me :)

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The article suggest he was drogue stabilised for the freefall (but who knows with journalists) so he shouldn't have had the same stability problems as Felix.

Also, I got a kick out of this "Mr. Eustace was carried aloft without the aid of the sophisticated capsule used by Mr. Baumgartner or millions of dollars in sponsorship money." No kidding, when you earn $20M a year you're free from the shackles of RedBull!:P

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

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jakee

The article suggest he was drogue stabilised for the freefall (but who knows with journalists) so he shouldn't have had the same stability problems as Felix.

:P]



The records indicate that as well

CLASSIFICATION: Class G—Parachuting

Sub-class: G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Altitude/Fall Records
Type of record: Exit Altitude
Location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Performance: 41,420 meters (135,890 feet)
Parachutist: Alan Eustace (USA)
Date: 24.10.2014

and

Sub-class: G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Altitude/Fall Records
Type of record: Distance of Fall with drogue/stabilizing device
Course/location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Performance: 37,617 meters (123,414 feet)
Parachutist: Alan Eustace (USA)
Date: 24.10.2014

and

Sub-class: G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Vertical Speed Records
Type of record: Vertical Speed with drogue/stabilizing device
Course/location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Performance: 1,321 km/hour (821 MPH, MACH 1.23)
Parachutist: Alan Eustace (USA)
Date: 24.10.2014

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gowlerk

Love it. Kittenger's record stands for decades. He then helps Baumgartner break it with years of planning, hype, and hoopla. The next thing we know. an Internet billionaire quietly spends enough money to break it two years later. Money can't buy me love. But it can sure buy lots of joy!



One *minor* difference if the article read is accurate. Sounds like this jump was drogue assisted. Felix went balls out.
Chuck Akers
D-10855
Houston, TX

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strife

***The article suggest he was drogue stabilised for the freefall (but who knows with journalists) so he shouldn't have had the same stability problems as Felix.

:P]



The records indicate that as well

CLASSIFICATION: Class G—Parachuting

Sub-class: G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Altitude/Fall Records
Type of record: Exit Altitude
Location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Performance: 41,420 meters (135,890 feet)
Parachutist: Alan Eustace (USA)
Date: 24.10.2014

and

Sub-class: G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Altitude/Fall Records
Type of record: Distance of Fall with drogue/stabilizing device
Course/location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Performance: 37,617 meters (123,414 feet)
Parachutist: Alan Eustace (USA)
Date: 24.10.2014

and

Sub-class: G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Vertical Speed Records
Type of record: Vertical Speed with drogue/stabilizing device
Course/location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Performance: 1,321 km/hour (821 MPH, MACH 1.23)
Parachutist: Alan Eustace (USA)
Date: 24.10.2014
Quote

The way I read this, Felix would still have the Free Fall record for total distance ( no drogue).

Life is short ... jump often.

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The best thing about this record, in my opinion, is that Alan is one of the nicest, most unassuming people I've ever met. He was truly more interested in the science (and the adventure) than any fame this fantastic achievement might bring him. He is truly one of us, and someone all of us should be proud of.

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JerryBaumchen

Hi gowlerk,

Quote

Kittenger's jump



A little trivia quiz for you: What type of back pack rig is Col. Joe using?

:P

It is ( IMO ) a predecessor to all modern rigs.

Jerry Baumchen




Sorry, I don't know. Maybe you could tell me? Also, I'm wondering about what kind of AOD saved his life on November 16, 1959 when he lost consciousness on the first high altitude attempt because of a spin with no drogue? Must be one of the first saves of it's kind.

Edit: Or rather, there was a drogue, but before it could deploy cleanly he became entangled (around the neck) with it's P/C bridle.
Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

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Well said Bill. Alan has been great to work with.

billbooth

The best thing about this record, in my opinion, is that Alan is one of the nicest, most unassuming people I've ever met. He was truly more interested in the science (and the adventure) than any fame this fantastic achievement might bring him. He is truly one of us, and someone all of us should be proud of.

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I think Felix still has these

Status: ratified - current record
Region: World
Class: G (Parachuting)
Sub-Class: G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Altitude Records
Type of record: Freefall distance
Performance: 36 402.6 m
Date: 2012-10-14
Course/Location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Claimant Felix Baumgartner (AUT)

Status: ratified - current record
Region: World
Class: G (Parachuting)
Sub-Class: G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Vertical Speed Records
Type of record: Vertical speed without drogue
Performance: 1 357.6 km/h
Date: 2012-10-14
Course/Location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Claimant Felix Baumgartner (AUT)

Status: ratified - current record
Region: World
Class: G (Parachuting)
Sub-Class: G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Altitude Records
Type of record: Exit altitude
Performance: 38 969.4 m
Date: 2012-10-14
Course/Location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Claimant Felix Baumgartner (AUT)

hopefully we see a full video of this explaining it, the short almost makes it look like in a few years this could be a commodity skydive.

Well done to all involved

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