23 mile skydive!

[Firestar_3x]

It's weird to think that the slightest gust of wind at that height could have knocked him continents off course!

I think a more pressing concern would be parping in his space suit, letting go of a smelly vindaloo 'deathbomb' might have knocked him out.

 

[SourChipmunk]

It's weird to think that the slightest gust of wind at that height could have knocked him continents off course!

He hit over 100 mph ground speed during his ascent going through the jetstream (around 35k feet?) for several minutes. I think he got about 24 miles east of Roswell at one point (nearly at the Texas border, if I recall correctly), then lighter winds pushed him back westerly to a distance of about 12 miles out.

 

[Wizzfizz]

Awesome.

 

[davedudes]

 

[ajf]

I hope they release some high res shots. Some of them would be great desktop images.

 

[ChrisJSY]

Argh, headcam footage ≠ on the chest facing backwards.

It's totally different to skydiving, you have sub zero, no oxygen in the atmosphire, falling faster than terminal velocity.

Terminal velocity isn't a set speed, you don't fall/move faster than it, it's an ever changing amount depending on various factors to reach a "terminal" amount.

I am sorry but there is more to it than that

Exactly, you need an incredibly intelligent and wealthy team doing everything for you!

 

[KatanaDV20]

I wanna see footage from his chest-cams!!!

 

[Firestar_3x]

Terminal velocity isn't a set speed, you don't fall/move faster than it, it's an ever changing amount depending on various factors

Yep, perhaps I should have finished my sentence by saying, than that of a normal skydiver

 

[chrisxuk]

A slight exaggeration

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Questions.

1) what happened to the balloon after the jump?
2) what stopped him from floating in to space, once he reached altitude?
3) why did they not give him a red cape and spandex pants? (Over the pressure suit)

 

[cymatty]

Love the idiocy of people on the internet.

Meanwhile, in the world of the normal person...

Really why is this such huge news? It won't lead to a cure for cancer., solve the worlds financial problems, and unless you need a guy to jump from that high for a specific reason (and I can't see that being the case) it serves no purpose.

Applaud those who cure the ills of the world, not those grandstand for their own glorification.

So this is the most important news story in the world right now? Guy jumps out of balloon. Does nothing for 5 mins. Lands on the ground. This is just one man with too much money and nothing better to do.

One small step for a man, one meaningless step for mankind.

What a waste of money!!!!!! Four years of all that time and money to achieve precisely what? Brave - really? - why is it brave to needlessly put your own life at risk for no real purpose. That isn't bravery - it's stupidity.

Falling is now an achievement.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19943590

 

[Conscript]

To those dismissing the jump as a pointless endeavour, have a read of the BBC article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19947159

Other technology used to record the event will have a more long-term application. Mr Baumgartner's body was monitored during the jump using equipment from Equivital, a small UK company.

A system strapped to the skydiver's chest wirelessly transmitted data about his heartbeat, respiration, skin temperature and other vital signs.

"It's a major coup for Equivital, which, despite its small size - currently only 25 employees - provides the US Army with its human body monitoring system," the company told BBC News.

The Red Bull Stratos scientists said the stunt had provided invaluable data for the development of high-performance, high-altitude parachute systems, and that the lessons learned would inform the development of new ideas for emergency evacuation from vehicles, such as spacecraft passing through the stratosphere.

"Part of this programme was to show high-altitude egress, passing through Mach and a successful re-entry back [to subsonic speed], because our belief scientifically is that's going to benefit future private space programmes or high-altitude pilots, and Felix proved that today," said Art Thompson, the team principal.

There was much more to it than just jumping for the sake of it. It provides a valuable insight into the effects of altitude on the human body which might have a practical application when it comes to designing escape systems for aircraft.

 

[cymatty]

Questions.

1) what happened to the balloon after the jump?
2) what stopped him from floating in to space, once he reached altitude?
3) why did they not give him a red cape and spandex pants? (Over the pressure suit)

1) separated from the capsule went higher up and went pop
2) Gravity
3)

 

[RoboCod]

Love the idiocy of people on the internet.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19943590

I like one of the replies here:

I am a little shocked at the ngative comments:
Usain Bolt runs a 100m under 10 seconds (like dozens before him) the world stands back in awe.
Felix Baumgartner breaks the sound barrier, without the aide of a machine, and sets a record for the highest sky dive and the world isn't bothered.
I know which I find more impressive, congratulations Felix!

 

[lucy_bee]

If only you could shake people and repeatedly slap them over the internet.

It would be a much more rewarding and productive experience.

Pleasant!

Bought a can of red bull in his honour today after being thoroughly engrossed, scared and elated by the whole thing yesterday.

 

[Guru]

To those dismissing the jump as a pointless endeavour, have a read of the BBC article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19947159



There was much more to it than just jumping for the sake of it. It provides a valuable insight into the effects of altitude on a new pressure suit which might have a practical application when it comes to designing escape systems for aircraft.

Fixed

 

[_Gizka_]

I'm still massively engrossed in what Felix, Joe and the rest of the team have achieved. It's staggering! I must have watched it a dozen times and can't stop looking at the media on the Red Bull website, its remarkable. I can't remember the last time I was this inspired or in awe at what humans have achieved. Its nuts.

Even the notion that a land dwelling, flightless species can break the sound barrier in freefall is ludicrous. To actually go out and do it though!

 

[Tattysnuc]

That is a Class reply

Indeed it is.

 

[Tattysnuc]

 

[SourChipmunk]

Questions.

1) what happened to the balloon after the jump?
2) what stopped him from floating in to space, once he reached altitude?
3) why did they not give him a red cape and spandex pants? (Over the pressure suit)

Questions 1 and 2 (as I tried to explain to a friend), I think of it like a fishing bobber in a lake with a lead weight on it. Take the bobber to the bottom and release it, it will float to the surface of the water and bob there, moving up and down with the motion of the water. Now, disconnect the lead weight and the weight will drop to the lake bottom, but the bobber will float up just a little higher on top of the water. There it will hang out until eaten by a grue. Using this example demonstrates why the balloon appeared to inflate more as it gained altitude -- the "weight" of the atmosphere crushed it at ground level just as water would crush a sealed container if it went deep enough.

My question is, if said bobber is filled with helium it might float just a little higher in the water or possibly even float slightly above it (depending on weight and internal volume). If they had used hydrogen instead of helium in the balloon -- although much more hazardous -- how much (if any) additional altitude could have been gained?