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Flyfast

High Altitude Record

By Flyfast, in General Skydiving Discussions

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Flyfast    0

Flyfast
http://www.redbullstratos.com/silverlight.html?v=Not%20installed!

From BlueSkiesMag.com:

Felix Baumgartner and Colonel Joseph Kittinger unveiled the Red Bull Stratos project today.

Red Bull Stratos, a mission to the edge of space, seeks to surpass limits that have existed for 50 years. Felix Baumgartner will undertake a stratospheric balloon flight to 120,000 feet and attempt a record-breaking freefall jump that is expected to reach – for the first time in history – supersonic speeds.

Velocity Sports Equipment, maker of the Infinity rig, created the rig and drogue. VSE owner Kelly Farrington says there are some pretty cool features of this rig. Hopefully we’ll get a bit more out of him, and some pictures, for you soon!
ZC OG

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highfly    0

highfly
Article on BBC News Website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8475288.stm

The Austrian extreme sportsman Felix Baumgartner says his next goal is to try to break the long-standing record for the highest ever parachute jump.

It is 50 years since the American Joe Kittinger made history by leaping from a balloon at 102,800ft (31km).

Many have sought to repeat the feat down the decades but all have failed.

Baumgartner, who is famous for stunts such as jumping off the Petronas Towers, aims to skydive from a balloon sent to at least 120,000 ft (37km).

It is likely that in his long freefall of more than five minutes, he will exceed the speed of sound - the first person to do so without the aid of a machine.

"No-one really knows what that will be like," he said.

"The fact is you have a lot of different airflows coming around your body; and some parts of your body are in supersonic flow and some parts are in transonic flow. What kind of reaction that creates, I can't tell you," he told BBC News.
Rio base jump
Felix Baumgartner's base-jumping has not always pleased the authorities

Baumgartner and his supporters claim the project will gather scientific data also about the stratosphere and how the body copes with the extreme conditions so high above the Earth's surface.

The most recent attempt to try to better Kittinger's mark was made in 2008 by the Frenchman Michel Fournier.
Joe Kittinger (USAF)
Joe Kittinger made his leap before the first American went into space

The former paratrooper and adventurer had spent years preparing for "Le Grand Saut", or Big Jump, only to see his balloon break free and float off into the sky just as he was about to climb inside the ascent capsule.

Baumgartner has frequently incurred the ire of the authorities because of his base-jumping - the highly dangerous practice of parachuting from buildings. He also made headlines in 2003 when he crossed the English Channel on a carbon wing strapped to his back.

His assault on Kittinger's record is likely to take place later this year over an as yet unnamed location in North America. He will ascend to the stratosphere in a pressurized capsule attached to a 450ft-high (140m) helium balloon, and then jump out at an altitude he hopes will exceed 120,000ft. .

He will be wearing a specially modified full-pressure suit and helmet.
Altitude graphic (BBC)

The organisers of the project called Red Bull Stratos say, if all goes well, he should break the speed of sound about 35 seconds into his descent.

Joe Kittinger's 16 August 1960 jump was an extraordinary achievement. It was made nine months before Alan Shepard was even launched on the first American sub-orbital space trip.

Kittinger experienced intense swelling in his right hand as his glove malfunctioned and his body reacted to the low pressure at high altitude.

"I was headed back down to a friendly Earth," he recalls. "It's extremely hostile up there and the further you fall, the friendlier it is," the retired USAF colonel told the BBC.

He is now supporting the Austrian in his endeavour.

As well as coping with freezing temperatures and ultra-thin air, a key objective for Baumgartner must be to try to maintain a good attitude during the descent and prevent his body from going into a spin and blacking out.
Felix Baumgartner (Red Bull Stratos)
Baumgartner acknowledges the risks of breaking the sound barrier

If he does go into a spin, it is unlikely, he says, he will be able to correct it.

In any case, his chute will be automatically deployed if he is unconscious.

Baumgartner has an eye on the benefits he believes can accrue to space exploration, making it possible to bring astronauts back to Earth alive if their vehicle malfunctions.

"We want to prove a human person - if they have to bail out of a capsule from 120,000ft - can come back safely to Earth," he explained.

Michel Fournier has promised to make another attempt in 2010 also, if he can secure the funding.

A BBC/National Geographic Channel documentary is being made about Baumgartner's project. The 90-minute film will be transmitted on BBC Two in the UK shortly after the jump.


www.myspace.com/durtymac

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Amazon    7

Amazon
Quote

http://www.redbullstratos.com/silverlight.html?v=Not%20installed!

From BlueSkiesMag.com:

Felix Baumgartner and Colonel Joseph Kittinger unveiled the Red Bull Stratos project today.

Red Bull Stratos, a mission to the edge of space, seeks to surpass limits that have existed for 50 years. Felix Baumgartner will undertake a stratospheric balloon flight to 120,000 feet and attempt a record-breaking freefall jump that is expected to reach – for the first time in history – supersonic speeds.

Velocity Sports Equipment, maker of the Infinity rig, created the rig and drogue. VSE owner Kelly Farrington says there are some pretty cool features of this rig. Hopefully we’ll get a bit more out of him, and some pictures, for you soon!



A DROUGE.. GAWD what a wussie... I would do it as a speed skydive:ph34r:

OH KELLLLLY...:).... didn't we talk about this back a few years ago when we build speed rig #2???

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kallend    1,623

kallend
Quote

Quote

According to Kittinger he broke the speed of sound. The officials say he didnt though


Source? He only went 614mph. He never mentioned it to me. :P
Take care,
space


So what was the speed of sound at the altitude (temperature) where he was going 614mph?
...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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base283    0

base283
Quote

Quote

Quote

According to Kittinger he broke the speed of sound. The officials say he didnt though


Source? He only went 614mph. He never mentioned it to me. :P
Take care,
space


So what was the speed of sound at the altitude (temperature) where he was going 614mph?

651,3mph
Ya know how the sound barrier gets lazy and slacks off at those alts.:P
Take care,
space

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kallend    1,623

kallend
Quote

Quote

Quote

Quote

According to Kittinger he broke the speed of sound. The officials say he didnt though


Source? He only went 614mph. He never mentioned it to me. :P
Take care,
space


So what was the speed of sound at the altitude (temperature) where he was going 614mph?

651,3mph
Ya know how the sound barrier gets lazy and slacks off at those alts.:P
Take care,
space


Well, I don't know about the 4 significant figures, but there you have the answer to his question.
...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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kallend    1,623

kallend
Quote

In Germany they use a comma for decimalization, and a period for separation.
As in I wrote this on 24.01.2009 and it cost me 0,73 Euros.
Take care,
space



I know that, but what does that have to do with the number of sig. figs?
...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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ltdiver    3

ltdiver
Quote

According to Kittinger he broke the speed of sound. The officials say he didnt though



This has been discussed at length by many people, at many different places.

This thread is most interesting here:
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1995473;search_string=kittenger%20speed%20of%20sound;#1995473
Pay special attention to mjosparky, who spent time with Kittenger. (post #10 of that thread)

From this search here:
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_type=AND&search_string=kittenger+speed+of+sound

ltdiver

Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon

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mjosparky    3

mjosparky
This is what Kittingger had to say about it.

Quote

Kittingger

"An hour and thirty-one minutes after launch, my pressure altimeter halts at 103,300 feet. At ground control the radar altimeters also have stopped-on readings of 102,800 feet, the figure that we later agree upon as the more reliable. It is 7 o'clock in the morning, and I have reached float altitude …. Though my stabilization chute opens at 96,000 feet, I accelerate for 6,000 feet more before hitting a peak of 614 miles an hour, nine-tenths the speed of sound at my altitude."



Sparky
My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

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