Red Bull Stratos: A Mission to the Edge of Space. 08th Oct

[TheHeretic]

Semi hemi said:

The early Soviet Vostok programme did just that, the Cosmonaut would eject from the reentry capsule about 20,000ft and land by Parachute.

Yeah, but I am talking about at the altitudes that they are delving into today... I wonder if a little 'emergency pod' could take the brunt of the deceleration, then jump at a much higher altitude, rather than rely on the capsule to bring you to a much lower position?

(Just thinking out loud really)

[blueST]

Absolutely loving this. Hope he's packed a jumper, it's nippy up there.

Does anyone know how he's going to navigate to a safe landing site once he bails?

[Semi hemi]

TheHeretic said:

Yeah, but I am talking about at the altitudes that they are delving into today... I wonder if a little 'emergency pod' could take the brunt of the deceleration, then jump at a much higher altitude, rather than rely on the capsule to bring you to a much lower position?

(Just thinking out loud really)

I see where your coming from, but surely if the 'emergency pod' was capable of withstanding the reentry it would make sense for it to spit out the SLC (Self Loading Cargo) at a lower and more hospitable altitude,

[onyx39]

I am amazed by how much curvature of the earth is visible from 60k ft (Concordes cruising height) I imaged the curvature view would have been reserved for astronauts / SR 71 pilots.

[blueST]

onyx39 said:

I am amazed by how much curvature of the earth is visible from 60k ft (Concordes cruising height) I imaged the curvature view would have been reserved for astronauts / SR 71 pilots.

I think the wide angles lenses exaggerate the curvature a lot.

[onyx39]

blueST said:

I think the wide angles lenses exaggerate the curvature a lot.

Just done a quick Google search and seveal people talking about seeing it from Concorde, so about 60k then.

[ben_h100]

blueST said:

I think the wide angles lenses exaggerate the curvature a lot.

This is true, they exaggerate the curvature at 13k ft so up there it will do it even more. Are they using gopros?

ETA - this is fantastic with it being beamed live back to earth.

[bobbylondonuk]

Imagine the Redbull logo on that balloon when it expands!

[Mojocvh]

reporting some system failures....

[ben_h100]

Mojocvh said:

reporting some system failures....

They are checking if the visor heating system is working correctly. Seems to be a similar system that Ford use in the quickclear windscreens. If that fails, I'm assuming there will be fog and ice buildup during the descent. Falling blind?

[MocMocaMoc]

ben_h100 said:

Mojocvh said:

reporting some system failures....

They are checking if the visor heating system is working correctly. Seems to be a similar system that Ford use in the quickclear windscreens. If that fails, I'm assuming there will be fog and ice buildup during the descent. Falling blind?

Of all the things to go wrong...

What on Earth does he do if it's not fixed?! Sure the AA doesnt cover it.

[Athlon]

Almost there!!

[Mojocvh]

servers running out of bandwidth GIVE ME A BREAK PLEASE!

[Switch]

Mojocvh said:

servers running out of bandwidth GIVE ME A BREAK PLEASE!

Which servers?

[Mojocvh]

Switch said:

Which servers?

YT

[With these feet]

4.7M people watching it though...

[Switch]

Mojocvh said:

Switch said:

Which servers?

YT

I'm sure they'll find some more shortly...

[Hugo a Gogo]

how high is he going? I thought 36,500 m, he's at 37,200 and climbing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-1992...

watching it on BBC btw, no probs with video

Edited by Hugo a Gogo on Sunday 14th October 18:46

[Eric Mc]

It had almost leveled off at around 122,000 feet but seems to have started up again.

[Switch]

Hugo a Gogo said:

how high is he going? I thought 36,500 m, he's at 37,200 and climbing

They're going up till the balloon reaches it's float height afaik.. so they're not sure