RedBull Stratos...Felix Baumgartner....700mph+ FreeFall

RedBull Stratos...Felix Baumgartner....700mph+ FreeFall

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y2blade

Original Poster:

56,029 posts

214 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic freefall from 120,000 ft will be the ultimate scientific experiment in a near-space environment.

http://www.redbullstratos.com/live/

Red Bull Stratos, a mission to the edge of space, will attempt to transcend human limits that have existed for 50 years. Supported by a team of experts Felix Baumgartner plans to ascend to 120,000 feet in a stratospheric balloon and make a freefall jump rushing toward earth at supersonic speeds before parachuting to the ground. His attempt to dare atmospheric limits holds the potential to provide valuable medical and scientific research data for future pioneers.

The Red Bull Stratos team brings together the world's leading minds in aerospace medicine, engineering, pressure suit development, capsule creation and balloon fabrication. It includes retired United States Air Force Colonel Joseph Kittinger, who holds three of the records Felix will strive to break.

Joe's record jump from 102,800 ft in 1960 was during a time when no one knew if a human could survive a jump from the edge of space. Joe was a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and had already taken a balloon to 97,000 feet in Project ManHigh and survived a drogue mishap during a jump from 76,400 feet in Excelsior I. The Excelsior III mission was his 33rd parachute jump.

Although researching extremes was part of the program's goals, setting records wasn't the mission's purpose. Joe ascended in helium balloon launched from the back of a truck. He wore a pressurized suit on the way up in an open, unpressurized gondola. Scientific data captured from Joe's jump was shared with U.S. research personnel for development of the space program. Today Felix and his specialized team hope to take what was learned from Joe's jumps more than 50 years ago and press forward to test the edge of the human envelope.




God Speed Felix bow

GTIR

24,741 posts

265 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
It's a shame his name's not "Bumgardener".

Anyhoo, very cool. yes

ETA. What about all this terminal velocity guff?
How can a human go fast enough?

Edited by GTIR on Tuesday 9th October 08:13

RemaL

24,967 posts

233 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
Chris u just seen the news also. Looks an amazing journey

y2blade

Original Poster:

56,029 posts

214 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
GTIR said:
What about all this terminal velocity guff?
How can a human go fast enough?
Atmosphere is thinner on the edge of space.

y2blade

Original Poster:

56,029 posts

214 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
RemaL said:
Chris u just seen the news also. Looks an amazing journey
Yep bow watching it on iPhone

JudgeMental

7,251 posts

232 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
Thanks for posting; will be watching this with great interest

Jsyphil

23 posts

172 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
GTIR said:
It's a shame his name's not "Bumgardener".

ETA. What about all this terminal velocity guff?
How can a human go fast enough?

Edited by GTIR on Tuesday 9th October 08:13
Very thin air - The higher you go, the thinner the air, the less resistance....


y2blade

Original Poster:

56,029 posts

214 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
Jsyphil said:
GTIR said:
It's a shame his name's not "Bumgardener".

ETA. What about all this terminal velocity guff?
How can a human go fast enough?

Edited by GTIR on Tuesday 9th October 08:13
Very thin air - The higher you go, the thinner the air, the less resistance....
way ahead of you partner wink

Megaflow

9,347 posts

224 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
A thought that occured watching this on the news this morning, how far up do you have to go before re-entry becomes an issue?

I suspect, by the very nature of re-entry, that you'd have to leave the atmosphere totally, and therefore there is no gravity to pull you down.

Adenauer

18,564 posts

235 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
It says that the video is unavailable (in German), is that because he hasn't jumped yet or because it can't be viewed in Sausageland? confused

y2blade

Original Poster:

56,029 posts

214 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
Adenauer said:
It says that the video is unavailable (in German), is that because he hasn't jumped yet or because it can't be viewed in Sausageland? confused
HE doesn't jump for another 4hrs44mins

Adenauer

18,564 posts

235 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
Ta, bigears thumbup

Vieste

10,532 posts

159 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
Good luck i hope he takes his ipod with him.

Jsyphil

23 posts

172 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
y2blade said:
way ahead of you partner wink
Yes, you were... silly

Still, need to increase my post count i guess laugh

Fingers crossed his gloves are fastened correctly...

Eric Mc

121,779 posts

264 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
Megaflow said:
A thought that occured watching this on the news this morning, how far up do you have to go before re-entry becomes an issue?

I suspect, by the very nature of re-entry, that you'd have to leave the atmosphere totally, and therefore there is no gravity to pull you down.
I presume you are concerned about the atmospheric heat friction that is normally associated with a spacecraft or satellite re-entering the atmosphere from earth orbit (or even direct from the moon, as in Apollo and Zond missions).

Atmospheric heating is not a function of altitude. It is a function of speed.
If you climbed a tower 100 miles high - you would be in space. If you jumped off that tower and started falling towards earth, your velocity would never exceed 800 mph - and at that speed frictional heating due to the atmopshere would be almot undetectable.

If you are in orbit around the earth at an altitude of 100 miles, you will start entering the atmosphere at 17,500 mph (25.000 mph if coming back from the moon). At those types of speeds atmospheric heating is a major issue and a specially designed heat shield of some sort is required to prevent the spacecraft from burning and breaking up.

him_over_there

970 posts

205 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
Megaflow said:
I suspect, by the very nature of re-entry, that you'd have to leave the atmosphere totally, and therefore there is no gravity to pull you down.
Gravity doesn't just stop at the atmosphere.

Eric Mc

121,779 posts

264 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all

mr2aw11

811 posts

222 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
On a Windows Phone 7... Getting a "loading experience (requres JavaScript)" message... Has any feed started yet?

Council Baby

19,741 posts

189 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
No feed here on desktop either so I assume it'll start when he jumps.

Anyone else fancy a go at this biggrin ?

Adenauer

18,564 posts

235 months

Tuesday 9th October 2012
quotequote all
I'm looking forward to winning the watch biggrin