Man skydives from near outer space

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Looks like Felix DID break the speed of sound! (Still officially unconfirmed, but faster than initial reports!)

For those keeping score, Baumgartner, according to preliminary data, had an exit altitude of 128,100 ft, a free fall of 4 min 20 seconds. for a distance of 119,846 feet. Baumgartner achieved a maximum velocity of 373 meters per second, 833.9 miles per hour, faster than the speed of sound, or Mach 1.24.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...7ddfc18-159d-11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_blog.html

 

[legalmania]

I watched that, it was nuts, when he started spinning out of control I thought he may pass out and not be able to pull his chute in time. 706 mph. OMG. To break the sound barrier, Wow now that's fast. They said on CNN that he was also testing out a new space suit for future astronauts? This was definitely one giant leap for man. I beat this is one myth the myth buster will not be trying to challenge.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...ace-breaks-sound-barrier/Article1-944668.aspx

 

[Dark Knight]

I am still on shock and awe from watching that, several hours later. Like I have trouble believing it was real. Just incredible.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

They played this song at the end of the broadcast.
Perfect choice, IMO.

(Not sure why it won't embed. Click. It's worth it!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ucg6KhX0mg

 

[ScubaTwinn]

I cannot wait to see the video from his helmet/suit! I couldn't bring it up this morning and will have to try again later.

 

[SurfieTX]

Interesting. Makes the jump that much more amazing:

Although he had no trouble jumping off buildings and bridges, and soaring across the English Channel in a carbon-fiber wing, he found himself suffering panic attacks when forced to spend hours inside the pressurized suit and helmet. At one point in 2010, rather than take an endurance test in it, he went to an airport and fled the United States. With the help of a sports psychologist and other specialists, he learned techniques for dealing with the claustrophobia.

One of the techniques Mr. Baumgartner developed was to stay busy throughout the ascent. He conversed steadily with Mr. Kittinger, a former fighter pilot whose deep voice exuded the right stuff as he confidently went through a 40-item checklist rehearsing every move that Mr. Baumgartner would make when it came time to leave the capsule.

When the actual moment came, Mr. Kittinger said to him, “All right, step up on the exterior step. Start the cameras. And our guardian angel will take care of you now.”

Mr. Baumgartner stepped outside, saluted and made the jump right after delivering a message that was mostly garbled by radio static. Afterward, he repeated it: “I know the whole world is watching, and I wish the whole world could see what I see. Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you really are.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/us/felix-baumgartner-skydiving.html?pagewanted=all

 

[SurfieTX]

[video=youtube;pHPx5vY3go8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHPx5vY3go8[/video]

 

[gitana1]

Questions:
Why doesn't the speed make him pass out?
How did he correct the free spin?
What camera (mounted where) was filming him from the side as a white dot falling through the sky?

Man, this to me is what nightmares are made of. Completely freaky!

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

I don't think the speed was the issue with passing out, but the crazy spinning. Felix said that he couldn't really feel the speed, and he had no idea when or if he broke the sound barrier, because of his pressurized suit and no reference points. But I saw an interview where he said, during the spin, he felt pressure in his head like he might pass out, but he didn't. My guess is a lot of that comes with training and knowing how to control what is happening to your body. He said he just kept fighting it.

Same with the spin. Felix said he didn't think he would spin that bad, but then the spin got out of control, so he had to constantly think about how he could fix it. At one point, he stuck out his arm, but that made it worse. My guess is it's a lot of work with your core, and a lot of training. Like, knowing which way to turn your wheel if your car is spinning on ice. He just had to know how to move his body against the constantly changing forces to right himself again.

I'm not sure about the camera. I know they had an infrared camera, but I don't know where it was mounted. I showed the footage to my students in class today. They suggested they might have been viewing from a telescope. ?

 

[Reader]

http://todaynews.today.com/_news/2012/10/22/14614075-felix-baumgartner-i-didnt-enjoy-space-jump?lite

...........“I am officially retired from the daredevil business,'' he told Savannah Guthrie on TODAY Monday. "I did it all. I had enough. It’s time to move on.”.................

While standing on the edge of the balloon platform, Baumgartner said he never hesitated.

“We have been practicing for this for five years,’’ he said. “In my mind, I did that jump many times. I was ready to go.

“I had an incredible view when I was standing on top of the world, but at the same time you realize everything around is hostile. I thought, ‘I had the privilege to stand here and nobody else was there before.’ When you step off, you’re on the way.’’.............

"Did you enjoy it?" Guthrie asked.

"Honestly, no," he said. "This is hard work. Later on, when my parachute opened, this was the first moment where I enjoyed it a lot because I knew it was over and I’m alive.’’

“Space Dive" premieres Sunday, November 11 on the National Geographic Channel.

 

[vls12345]

Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner dead in paragliding accident

The man known for jumping from the stratosphere down to Earth in 2012, died in a paragliding crash in Italy.

www.11alive.com

Felix Baumgartner, the man known for jumping from the stratosphere down to Earth in 2012, died in a paragliding crash Thursday, according to multiple reports.

The crash reportedly happened in the eastern Italian town of Porto Sant’Elpidio, according to Italian daily general-interest newspaper La Repubblica.

 

[PrairieWind]

Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner dead in paragliding accident

The man known for jumping from the stratosphere down to Earth in 2012, died in a paragliding crash in Italy.

www.11alive.com

I saw a news report this morning about his death. Very sad. He was a neat person.