Thought y'all might like this:

Link to pictures:
http://pddnet.com/photos-of-the-day-...onic-031612%2f

Skydiver Aims to Jump from 23 Miles, Go Supersonic
By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer
Friday, March 16, 2012

"Fearless Felix" Baumgartner has jumped 2,500 times from planes and
helicopters, as well as some of the highest landmarks and skyscrapers
on the planet — the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de
Janeiro, the Millau Viaduct in southern France, the 101-story Taipei
101 in Taiwan.

He's also leapt face-first into a pitch-dark, 620-foot-deep cave in
Croatia — his most dangerous feat yet, he says, but soon to be
outdone.

This summer, Baumgartner hopes to hurtle toward Earth at supersonic
speed from a record 23 miles up, breaking the sound barrier with only
his body.

He made it more than halfway there during a critical dress rehearsal
Thursday, ascending from the New Mexico desert in a helium balloon and
jumping from more than 13 miles up. He is believed to be only the
third person to leap from such a high altitude and free fall to a safe
landing — and the first to do so in 50 years. The record is Air Force
test pilot Joe Kittinger's jump from 102,800 feet — 19.5 miles — in
1960.

"I'm now a member of a pretty small club," Baumgartner said in remarks
provided by representatives.

Baumgartner tested the same pressurized capsule and full-pressure suit
that he will use in a few months for a record-setting free fall from
120,000 feet. The extra protection is needed because there's virtually
no atmosphere at such heights.

That's nowhere near space, but high enough to grab NASA's attention.

Engineers working on astronaut escape systems for future spacecraft
have their eyes on this Austrian skydiver, former military
parachutist, extreme athlete and, yes, daredevil known as "Fearless
Felix."

"I like to challenge myself," Baumgartner, 42, explained in a recent
interview, "and this is the ultimate skydive. I think there's nothing
bigger than that."

Thursday's test run provided the boost Baumgartner was hoping for.

"That was the momentum we needed for the whole team. Now we are ready
for the 90,000 jump," Baumgartner said, referring to the next trial
run.

"I could not really feel my hands in free fall as it was so cold. We
have to work on this," he added.

Baumgartner's 100-foot helium balloon and pressurized capsule lifted
off from Roswell, N.M., on Thursday morning. He jumped at 71,581 feet
— 13.6 miles — and landed safely eight minutes and eight seconds
later, according to spokeswoman Trish Medalen. He reached speeds of up
to 364.4 mph and was in free fall for three minutes and 43 seconds,
before pulling his parachute cords, Medalen said.

"The view is amazing, way better than I thought," Baumgartner said
after the practice jump.

(Commercial jets generally cruise at just over 30,000 feet.)

After one more trial run, he'll attempt 120,000 feet, or 22.8 miles.
The launch window opens in July and extends until the beginning of
October; it's based on optimal weather at the Roswell site.

"Keep in mind that at 120,000 feet ... there is no atmosphere to
sustain human life," said Dustin Gohmert, manager of NASA's crew
survival engineering office at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "To
the body, it's no different than being in deep space, save from
possibly more radiation shielding from the little atmosphere you have.
You need the full protection of the pressure suit."

The record-holder Kittinger was in free fall for four minutes, 36
seconds, and accelerated to 614 mph, equivalent to Mach 0.9, just shy
of the sound barrier. For his grand finale, Baumgartner expects to be
in free fall for five minutes, 35 seconds, and achieve Mach 1, or 690
mph. All told, the descent should take 15 to 20 minutes.

Dr. Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon who heads
Baumgartner's medical team, puts the chance of survival as "very
high." Injury is possible.

"Sure, I fear" for Baumgartner's life, said Clark, whose astronaut
wife, Laurel, died aboard space shuttle Columbia in 2003. "I mean,
this is high-risk stuff."

Baumgartner is a perfectionist with a test pilot's personality and
drive, according to Clark, and definitely not a flamboyant risk taker.
He's survived as a BASE jumper, Clark noted, referring to the sport of
jumping off fixed structures and using parachutes to break the fall.
"They don't live long if they're not good."

The project, called Red Bull Stratos, is sponsored by the energy drink
maker. (Stratos refers to the stratosphere.) The project costs have
not been disclosed.

Kittinger's Excelsior mission was Air Force; he was a test pilot when
he made his record-setting jump from an open, unpressurized gondola,
long before anyone had rocketed into space.

Now 83, Kittinger lives near Orlando, Fla., and has been working with
Baumgartner for three years. He took part in Thursday's test, as did
Clark.

Kittinger is amazed no one has broken his free-falling record, after
so many decades.

"In the 52 years since I did it, there have been a lot of improvements
in pressure suits, in communications and life-support systems. But the
only thing that really has not changed is how hostile it is at that
altitude," Kittinger said. "It's almost a complete vacuum."

That's why NASA is so interested, even though space officially begins
considerably higher at an even 100 kilometers, 328,084 feet or 62
miles.

In the nine years since the Columbia tragedy, emergency escape has
been a top priority for NASA. The seven astronauts were killed during
re-entry at just over 200,000 feet, nearly double Baumgartner's
targeted altitude.

Granted, NASA's retired space shuttles will never fly again. But with
so many different types of spacecraft in development by so many
different companies, NASA wants to keep astronauts as safe as possible
and provide a means for escape in the decades ahead.

Baumgartner's experience is sure to provide important lessons, Gohmert
said.

Indeed, Baumgartner considers himself a pioneer — and a cautious one.
He's following Kittinger's example of jumping in incrementally higher
stages.

Kittinger nearly died trying on his own first dress rehearsal.

While jumping from 76,400 feet in 1959, Kittinger's small, stabilizing
parachute opened too soon and got tangled around his neck. He went
into a downward spin and blacked out. He was saved only by the
automatic deployment of his emergency chute.

"I had confidence in myself and my equipment and my team. That never
varied," Kittinger said. "Felix has to have the same thing."

Baumgartner insists he won't take any chances. Plus he's spent the
past five years surrounding himself with "the right people," most
notably Kittinger, a retired Air Force colonel and former Vietnam POW.
A lawsuit, claiming theft by Red Bull of the idea, held things up; it
was settled out of court last year.

Baumgartner — a lean but muscular 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds — said he
minimizes risk through preparation.

"We're not going from zero to hero," Baumgartner said last month.

Like NASA, he's put together a big what-if list: What if this goes
wrong? What if that does?

What scares him most, Baumgartner said, sounding like so many
astronauts, are the things he hasn't thought of yet.

Simply put, the unknown unknown.

On 3/16/2012 9:33 AM, rangerssuck wrote:
Thought y'all might like this:

Link to pictures:
http://pddnet.com/photos-of-the-day-...onic-031612%2f

Skydiver Aims to Jump from 23 Miles, Go Supersonic
By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer
Friday, March 16, 2012

"Fearless Felix" Baumgartner has jumped 2,500 times from planes and
helicopters, as well as some of the highest landmarks and skyscrapers
on the planet — the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de
Janeiro, the Millau Viaduct in southern France, the 101-story Taipei
101 in Taiwan.

He's also leapt face-first into a pitch-dark, 620-foot-deep cave in
Croatia — his most dangerous feat yet, he says, but soon to be
outdone.

This summer, Baumgartner hopes to hurtle toward Earth at supersonic
speed from a record 23 miles up, breaking the sound barrier with only
his body.

He'll need a Maxwell parachute for this.



He made it more than halfway there during a critical dress rehearsal
Thursday, ascending from the New Mexico desert in a helium balloon and
jumping from more than 13 miles up. He is believed to be only the
third person to leap from such a high altitude and free fall to a safe
landing — and the first to do so in 50 years. The record is Air Force
test pilot Joe Kittinger's jump from 102,800 feet — 19.5 miles — in
1960.

"I'm now a member of a pretty small club," Baumgartner said in remarks
provided by representatives.

Baumgartner tested the same pressurized capsule and full-pressure suit
that he will use in a few months for a record-setting free fall from
120,000 feet. The extra protection is needed because there's virtually
no atmosphere at such heights.

That's nowhere near space, but high enough to grab NASA's attention.

Engineers working on astronaut escape systems for future spacecraft
have their eyes on this Austrian skydiver, former military
parachutist, extreme athlete and, yes, daredevil known as "Fearless
Felix."

"I like to challenge myself," Baumgartner, 42, explained in a recent
interview, "and this is the ultimate skydive. I think there's nothing
bigger than that."

Thursday's test run provided the boost Baumgartner was hoping for.

"That was the momentum we needed for the whole team. Now we are ready
for the 90,000 jump," Baumgartner said, referring to the next trial
run.

"I could not really feel my hands in free fall as it was so cold. We
have to work on this," he added.

Baumgartner's 100-foot helium balloon and pressurized capsule lifted
off from Roswell, N.M., on Thursday morning. He jumped at 71,581 feet
— 13.6 miles — and landed safely eight minutes and eight seconds
later, according to spokeswoman Trish Medalen. He reached speeds of up
to 364.4 mph and was in free fall for three minutes and 43 seconds,
before pulling his parachute cords, Medalen said.

"The view is amazing, way better than I thought," Baumgartner said
after the practice jump.

(Commercial jets generally cruise at just over 30,000 feet.)

After one more trial run, he'll attempt 120,000 feet, or 22.8 miles.
The launch window opens in July and extends until the beginning of
October; it's based on optimal weather at the Roswell site.

"Keep in mind that at 120,000 feet ... there is no atmosphere to
sustain human life," said Dustin Gohmert, manager of NASA's crew
survival engineering office at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "To
the body, it's no different than being in deep space, save from
possibly more radiation shielding from the little atmosphere you have.
You need the full protection of the pressure suit."

The record-holder Kittinger was in free fall for four minutes, 36
seconds, and accelerated to 614 mph, equivalent to Mach 0.9, just shy
of the sound barrier. For his grand finale, Baumgartner expects to be
in free fall for five minutes, 35 seconds, and achieve Mach 1, or 690
mph. All told, the descent should take 15 to 20 minutes.

Dr. Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon who heads
Baumgartner's medical team, puts the chance of survival as "very
high." Injury is possible.

"Sure, I fear" for Baumgartner's life, said Clark, whose astronaut
wife, Laurel, died aboard space shuttle Columbia in 2003. "I mean,
this is high-risk stuff."

Baumgartner is a perfectionist with a test pilot's personality and
drive, according to Clark, and definitely not a flamboyant risk taker.
He's survived as a BASE jumper, Clark noted, referring to the sport of
jumping off fixed structures and using parachutes to break the fall.
"They don't live long if they're not good."

The project, called Red Bull Stratos, is sponsored by the energy drink
maker. (Stratos refers to the stratosphere.) The project costs have
not been disclosed.

Kittinger's Excelsior mission was Air Force; he was a test pilot when
he made his record-setting jump from an open, unpressurized gondola,
long before anyone had rocketed into space.

Now 83, Kittinger lives near Orlando, Fla., and has been working with
Baumgartner for three years. He took part in Thursday's test, as did
Clark.

Kittinger is amazed no one has broken his free-falling record, after
so many decades.

"In the 52 years since I did it, there have been a lot of improvements
in pressure suits, in communications and life-support systems. But the
only thing that really has not changed is how hostile it is at that
altitude," Kittinger said. "It's almost a complete vacuum."

That's why NASA is so interested, even though space officially begins
considerably higher at an even 100 kilometers, 328,084 feet or 62
miles.

In the nine years since the Columbia tragedy, emergency escape has
been a top priority for NASA. The seven astronauts were killed during
re-entry at just over 200,000 feet, nearly double Baumgartner's
targeted altitude.

Granted, NASA's retired space shuttles will never fly again. But with
so many different types of spacecraft in development by so many
different companies, NASA wants to keep astronauts as safe as possible
and provide a means for escape in the decades ahead.

Baumgartner's experience is sure to provide important lessons, Gohmert
said.

Indeed, Baumgartner considers himself a pioneer — and a cautious one.
He's following Kittinger's example of jumping in incrementally higher
stages.

Kittinger nearly died trying on his own first dress rehearsal.

While jumping from 76,400 feet in 1959, Kittinger's small, stabilizing
parachute opened too soon and got tangled around his neck. He went
into a downward spin and blacked out. He was saved only by the
automatic deployment of his emergency chute.

"I had confidence in myself and my equipment and my team. That never
varied," Kittinger said. "Felix has to have the same thing."

Baumgartner insists he won't take any chances. Plus he's spent the
past five years surrounding himself with "the right people," most
notably Kittinger, a retired Air Force colonel and former Vietnam POW.
A lawsuit, claiming theft by Red Bull of the idea, held things up; it
was settled out of court last year.

Baumgartner — a lean but muscular 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds — said he
minimizes risk through preparation.

"We're not going from zero to hero," Baumgartner said last month.

Like NASA, he's put together a big what-if list: What if this goes
wrong? What if that does?

What scares him most, Baumgartner said, sounding like so many
astronauts, are the things he hasn't thought of yet.

Simply put, the unknown unknown.

On Mar 16, 12:33*pm, rangerssuck wrote:
Thought y'all might like this:

Link to pictures:http://pddnet.com/photos-of-the-day-...o-go-supersoni...

Skydiver Aims to Jump from 23 Miles, Go Supersonic
By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer
Friday, March 16, 2012

"Fearless Felix" Baumgartner has jumped 2,500 times from planes and
helicopters, as well as some of the highest landmarks and skyscrapers
on the planet — the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de
Janeiro, the Millau Viaduct in southern France, the 101-story Taipei
101 in Taiwan.

He's also leapt face-first into a pitch-dark, 620-foot-deep cave in
Croatia — his most dangerous feat yet, he says, but soon to be
outdone.

This summer, Baumgartner hopes to hurtle toward Earth at supersonic
speed from a record 23 miles up, breaking the sound barrier with only
his body.

He made it more than halfway there during a critical dress rehearsal
Thursday, ascending from the New Mexico desert in a helium balloon and
jumping from more than 13 miles up. He is believed to be only the
third person to leap from such a high altitude and free fall to a safe
landing — and the first to do so in 50 years. The record is Air Force
test pilot Joe Kittinger's jump from 102,800 feet — 19.5 miles — in
1960.

"I'm now a member of a pretty small club," Baumgartner said in remarks
provided by representatives.

Baumgartner tested the same pressurized capsule and full-pressure suit
that he will use in a few months for a record-setting free fall from
120,000 feet. The extra protection is needed because there's virtually
no atmosphere at such heights.

That's nowhere near space, but high enough to grab NASA's attention.

Engineers working on astronaut escape systems for future spacecraft
have their eyes on this Austrian skydiver, former military
parachutist, extreme athlete and, yes, daredevil known as "Fearless
Felix."

"I like to challenge myself," Baumgartner, 42, explained in a recent
interview, "and this is the ultimate skydive. I think there's nothing
bigger than that."

Thursday's test run provided the boost Baumgartner was hoping for.

"That was the momentum we needed for the whole team. Now we are ready
for the 90,000 jump," Baumgartner said, referring to the next trial
run.

"I could not really feel my hands in free fall as it was so cold. We
have to work on this," he added.

Baumgartner's 100-foot helium balloon and pressurized capsule lifted
off from Roswell, N.M., on Thursday morning. He jumped at 71,581 feet
— 13.6 miles — and landed safely eight minutes and eight seconds
later, according to spokeswoman Trish Medalen. He reached speeds of up
to 364.4 mph and was in free fall for three minutes and 43 seconds,
before pulling his parachute cords, Medalen said.

"The view is amazing, way better than I thought," Baumgartner said
after the practice jump.

(Commercial jets generally cruise at just over 30,000 feet.)

After one more trial run, he'll attempt 120,000 feet, or 22.8 miles.
The launch window opens in July and extends until the beginning of
October; it's based on optimal weather at the Roswell site.

"Keep in mind that at 120,000 feet ... there is no atmosphere to
sustain human life," said Dustin Gohmert, manager of NASA's crew
survival engineering office at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "To
the body, it's no different than being in deep space, save from
possibly more radiation shielding from the little atmosphere you have.
You need the full protection of the pressure suit."

The record-holder Kittinger was in free fall for four minutes, 36
seconds, and accelerated to 614 mph, equivalent to Mach 0.9, just shy
of the sound barrier. For his grand finale, Baumgartner expects to be
in free fall for five minutes, 35 seconds, and achieve Mach 1, or 690
mph. All told, the descent should take 15 to 20 minutes.

Dr. Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon who heads
Baumgartner's medical team, puts the chance of survival as "very
high." Injury is possible.

"Sure, I fear" for Baumgartner's life, said Clark, whose astronaut
wife, Laurel, died aboard space shuttle Columbia in 2003. "I mean,
this is high-risk stuff."

Baumgartner is a perfectionist with a test pilot's personality and
drive, according to Clark, and definitely not a flamboyant risk taker.
He's survived as a BASE jumper, Clark noted, referring to the sport of
jumping off fixed structures and using parachutes to break the fall.
"They don't live long if they're not good."

The project, called Red Bull Stratos, is sponsored by the energy drink
maker. (Stratos refers to the stratosphere.) The project costs have
not been disclosed.

Kittinger's Excelsior mission was Air Force; he was a test pilot when
he made his record-setting jump from an open, unpressurized gondola,
long before anyone had rocketed into space.

Now 83, Kittinger lives near Orlando, Fla., and has been working with
Baumgartner for three years. He took part in Thursday's test, as did
Clark.

Kittinger is amazed no one has broken his free-falling record, after
so many decades.

"In the 52 years since I did it, there have been a lot of improvements
in pressure suits, in communications and life-support systems. But the
only thing that really has not changed is how hostile it is at that
altitude," Kittinger said. "It's almost a complete vacuum."

That's why NASA is so interested, even though space officially begins
considerably higher at an even 100 kilometers, 328,084 feet or 62
miles.

In the nine years since the Columbia tragedy, emergency escape has
been a top priority for NASA. The seven astronauts were killed during
re-entry at just over 200,000 feet, nearly double Baumgartner's
targeted altitude.

Granted, NASA's retired space shuttles will never fly again. But with
so many different types of spacecraft in development by so many
different companies, NASA wants to keep astronauts as safe as possible
and provide a means for escape in the decades ahead.

Baumgartner's experience is sure to provide important lessons, Gohmert
said.

Indeed, Baumgartner considers himself a pioneer — and a cautious one.
He's following Kittinger's example of jumping in incrementally higher
stages.

Kittinger nearly died trying on his own first dress rehearsal.

While jumping from 76,400 feet in 1959, Kittinger's small, stabilizing
parachute opened too soon and got tangled around his neck. He went
into a downward spin and blacked out. He was saved only by the
automatic deployment of his emergency chute.

"I had confidence in myself and my equipment and my team. That never
varied," Kittinger said. "Felix has to have the same thing."

Baumgartner insists he won't take any chances. Plus he's spent the
past five years surrounding himself with "the right people," most
notably Kittinger, a retired Air Force colonel and former Vietnam POW.
A lawsuit, claiming theft by Red Bull of the idea, held things up; it
was settled out of court last year.

Baumgartner — a lean but muscular 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds — said he
minimizes risk through preparation.

"We're not going from zero to hero," Baumgartner said last month.

Like NASA, he's put together a big what-if list: What if this goes
wrong? What if that does?

What scares him most, Baumgartner said, sounding like so many
astronauts, are the things he hasn't thought of yet.

Simply put, the unknown unknown.

I wonder if he will be supersonic at such a high altitude that being
supersonic is basically 'meaningless' (no real physical effects, shock
wave, etc).

Supersonic at 70000ft is a lot different from supersonic at 10 or 20K.


Dave

On 3/16/2012 2:29 PM, Dave__67 wrote:
On Mar 16, 12:33 pm, wrote:
Thought y'all might like this:

Link to pictures:http://pddnet.com/photos-of-the-day-...o-go-supersoni...

Skydiver Aims to Jump from 23 Miles, Go Supersonic
By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer
Friday, March 16, 2012

"Fearless Felix" Baumgartner has jumped 2,500 times from planes and
helicopters, as well as some of the highest landmarks and skyscrapers
on the planet — the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio de
Janeiro, the Millau Viaduct in southern France, the 101-story Taipei
101 in Taiwan.

He's also leapt face-first into a pitch-dark, 620-foot-deep cave in
Croatia — his most dangerous feat yet, he says, but soon to be
outdone.

This summer, Baumgartner hopes to hurtle toward Earth at supersonic
speed from a record 23 miles up, breaking the sound barrier with only
his body.

He made it more than halfway there during a critical dress rehearsal
Thursday, ascending from the New Mexico desert in a helium balloon and
jumping from more than 13 miles up. He is believed to be only the
third person to leap from such a high altitude and free fall to a safe
landing — and the first to do so in 50 years. The record is Air Force
test pilot Joe Kittinger's jump from 102,800 feet — 19.5 miles — in
1960.

"I'm now a member of a pretty small club," Baumgartner said in remarks
provided by representatives.

Baumgartner tested the same pressurized capsule and full-pressure suit
that he will use in a few months for a record-setting free fall from
120,000 feet. The extra protection is needed because there's virtually
no atmosphere at such heights.

That's nowhere near space, but high enough to grab NASA's attention.

Engineers working on astronaut escape systems for future spacecraft
have their eyes on this Austrian skydiver, former military
parachutist, extreme athlete and, yes, daredevil known as "Fearless
Felix."

"I like to challenge myself," Baumgartner, 42, explained in a recent
interview, "and this is the ultimate skydive. I think there's nothing
bigger than that."

Thursday's test run provided the boost Baumgartner was hoping for.

"That was the momentum we needed for the whole team. Now we are ready
for the 90,000 jump," Baumgartner said, referring to the next trial
run.

"I could not really feel my hands in free fall as it was so cold. We
have to work on this," he added.

Baumgartner's 100-foot helium balloon and pressurized capsule lifted
off from Roswell, N.M., on Thursday morning. He jumped at 71,581 feet
— 13.6 miles — and landed safely eight minutes and eight seconds
later, according to spokeswoman Trish Medalen. He reached speeds of up
to 364.4 mph and was in free fall for three minutes and 43 seconds,
before pulling his parachute cords, Medalen said.

"The view is amazing, way better than I thought," Baumgartner said
after the practice jump.

(Commercial jets generally cruise at just over 30,000 feet.)

After one more trial run, he'll attempt 120,000 feet, or 22.8 miles.
The launch window opens in July and extends until the beginning of
October; it's based on optimal weather at the Roswell site.

"Keep in mind that at 120,000 feet ... there is no atmosphere to
sustain human life," said Dustin Gohmert, manager of NASA's crew
survival engineering office at Johnson Space Center in Houston. "To
the body, it's no different than being in deep space, save from
possibly more radiation shielding from the little atmosphere you have.
You need the full protection of the pressure suit."

The record-holder Kittinger was in free fall for four minutes, 36
seconds, and accelerated to 614 mph, equivalent to Mach 0.9, just shy
of the sound barrier. For his grand finale, Baumgartner expects to be
in free fall for five minutes, 35 seconds, and achieve Mach 1, or 690
mph. All told, the descent should take 15 to 20 minutes.

Dr. Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon who heads
Baumgartner's medical team, puts the chance of survival as "very
high." Injury is possible.

"Sure, I fear" for Baumgartner's life, said Clark, whose astronaut
wife, Laurel, died aboard space shuttle Columbia in 2003. "I mean,
this is high-risk stuff."

Baumgartner is a perfectionist with a test pilot's personality and
drive, according to Clark, and definitely not a flamboyant risk taker.
He's survived as a BASE jumper, Clark noted, referring to the sport of
jumping off fixed structures and using parachutes to break the fall.
"They don't live long if they're not good."

The project, called Red Bull Stratos, is sponsored by the energy drink
maker. (Stratos refers to the stratosphere.) The project costs have
not been disclosed.

Kittinger's Excelsior mission was Air Force; he was a test pilot when
he made his record-setting jump from an open, unpressurized gondola,
long before anyone had rocketed into space.

Now 83, Kittinger lives near Orlando, Fla., and has been working with
Baumgartner for three years. He took part in Thursday's test, as did
Clark.

Kittinger is amazed no one has broken his free-falling record, after
so many decades.

"In the 52 years since I did it, there have been a lot of improvements
in pressure suits, in communications and life-support systems. But the
only thing that really has not changed is how hostile it is at that
altitude," Kittinger said. "It's almost a complete vacuum."

That's why NASA is so interested, even though space officially begins
considerably higher at an even 100 kilometers, 328,084 feet or 62
miles.

In the nine years since the Columbia tragedy, emergency escape has
been a top priority for NASA. The seven astronauts were killed during
re-entry at just over 200,000 feet, nearly double Baumgartner's
targeted altitude.

Granted, NASA's retired space shuttles will never fly again. But with
so many different types of spacecraft in development by so many
different companies, NASA wants to keep astronauts as safe as possible
and provide a means for escape in the decades ahead.

Baumgartner's experience is sure to provide important lessons, Gohmert
said.

Indeed, Baumgartner considers himself a pioneer — and a cautious one.
He's following Kittinger's example of jumping in incrementally higher
stages.

Kittinger nearly died trying on his own first dress rehearsal.

While jumping from 76,400 feet in 1959, Kittinger's small, stabilizing
parachute opened too soon and got tangled around his neck. He went
into a downward spin and blacked out. He was saved only by the
automatic deployment of his emergency chute.

"I had confidence in myself and my equipment and my team. That never
varied," Kittinger said. "Felix has to have the same thing."

Baumgartner insists he won't take any chances. Plus he's spent the
past five years surrounding himself with "the right people," most
notably Kittinger, a retired Air Force colonel and former Vietnam POW.
A lawsuit, claiming theft by Red Bull of the idea, held things up; it
was settled out of court last year.

Baumgartner — a lean but muscular 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds — said he
minimizes risk through preparation.

"We're not going from zero to hero," Baumgartner said last month.

Like NASA, he's put together a big what-if list: What if this goes
wrong? What if that does?

What scares him most, Baumgartner said, sounding like so many
astronauts, are the things he hasn't thought of yet.

Simply put, the unknown unknown.

I wonder if he will be supersonic at such a high altitude that being
supersonic is basically 'meaningless' (no real physical effects, shock
wave, etc).

Supersonic at 70000ft is a lot different from supersonic at 10 or 20K.


Dave

Yes it is, in terms of miles per hour.
But the shock waves, although less dense, are still there...

Richard wrote:


Simply put, the unknown unknown.

I wonder if he will be supersonic at such a high altitude that being
supersonic is basically 'meaningless' (no real physical effects, shock
wave, etc).

Supersonic at 70000ft is a lot different from supersonic at 10 or 20K.


Dave

Yes it is, in terms of miles per hour.
But the shock waves, although less dense, are still there...
But is it really sky diving if you are in a capsule?
jk

On 3/17/2012 7:05 PM, jk wrote:
wrote:


Simply put, the unknown unknown.

I wonder if he will be supersonic at such a high altitude that being
supersonic is basically 'meaningless' (no real physical effects, shock
wave, etc).

Supersonic at 70000ft is a lot different from supersonic at 10 or 20K.


Dave

Yes it is, in terms of miles per hour.
But the shock waves, although less dense, are still there...
But is it really sky diving if you are in a capsule?
jk

No, but is a space suit a capsule?

Richard wrote:

On 3/17/2012 7:05 PM, jk wrote:
wrote:


Simply put, the unknown unknown.

I wonder if he will be supersonic at such a high altitude that being
supersonic is basically 'meaningless' (no real physical effects, shock
wave, etc).

Supersonic at 70000ft is a lot different from supersonic at 10 or 20K.


Dave

Yes it is, in terms of miles per hour.
But the shock waves, although less dense, are still there...
But is it really sky diving if you are in a capsule?
jk

No, but is a space suit a capsule?

The article says he is using a pressurized capsule and a suit, and
says nothing about him leaving the capsule.
jk

In article ,
says...

Richard wrote:

On 3/17/2012 7:05 PM, jk wrote:
wrote:


Simply put, the unknown unknown.

I wonder if he will be supersonic at such a high altitude that being
supersonic is basically 'meaningless' (no real physical effects, shock
wave, etc).

Supersonic at 70000ft is a lot different from supersonic at 10 or 20K.


Dave

Yes it is, in terms of miles per hour.
But the shock waves, although less dense, are still there...
But is it really sky diving if you are in a capsule?
jk

No, but is a space suit a capsule?

The article says he is using a pressurized capsule and a suit, and
says nothing about him leaving the capsule.

He's doing the same thing Kittinger did. He's riding up in a
pressurized capsule, sealing the suit, and jumping. The alternative is
that he spend several hours hanging by a suspension harness under a
balloon and having to disconnect umbilicals before he jumps (or else
jumping with an oversized oxygen tank attached to him).

If you looked at the pictures you'd see the rig that he's using.