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April 9, 2012 First step's a doozer.
One giant leap
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On Thursday, the adventurer leapt from a balloon-borne capsule 71,500ft (22km) above New Mexico, landing safely eight minutes later. The dive was intended to test all his equipment before he tries to free-fall from 120,000ft later this year. In doing so, he would better the mark of 102,800ft set by US Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger in 1960. Even just Thursday's jump puts Baumgartner in a select group as only Kittinger and Russian Eugene Andreev have descended from higher. Baumgartner, who is famous for stunts such as jumping off the Petronas Towers, is seen in the special pressure suit he must wear to stay alive in the thin air and extreme cold of the stratosphere. |
Trilby Tuesday Apr 10 08:04 AM
Hey! I can see my house!
Sundae Tuesday Apr 10 09:24 AM
That genuinely took my breath away.
Terrifying.
sexobon Tuesday Apr 10 11:00 AM
It looks like he just finished testing a prototype orbiting outhouse for NASA.
classicman Tuesday Apr 10 12:37 PM
nuckin' futs!
infinite monkey Tuesday Apr 10 01:21 PM
See, I could totally do that. It looks like fun. Safer than the interstate. 
classicman Tuesday Apr 10 01:46 PM
yeh sure, till that guy pulls outta the drop off cloud and ... 
infinite monkey Tuesday Apr 10 01:58 PM
*snortle*
That'd be my luck. "Oh look, i'm in space. I'm Rocket Woman...HEY ASSHOLE YOU ALMOST KILLED ME...grumble grumble, came outta no where!"
Gravdigr Tuesday Apr 10 04:58 PM
One word.
Bird strike.
What?
onetrack Wednesday Apr 11 11:12 AM
Two words - Red Bull
Now, I've heard that Red Bull gives you a high in exhilaration - but this is taking it to ridiculous heights! 
Cyber Wolf Wednesday Apr 11 05:08 PM
Okay, now I'm curious exactly where the whole atmospheric re-entry burn begins. I guess it's still higher than 46.5 miles up...? Or maybe you need to come in at a certain angle? I keep thinking this guy would land with a serious case of hot pants.
Happy Monkey Wednesday Apr 11 05:40 PM
It's when you hit the atmosphere at an orbital speed, and use it to brake. A baloon isn't likely to be moving very fast relative to the atmosphere.
Aliantha Wednesday Apr 11 07:02 PM
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Originally Posted by infinite monkey
See, I could totally do that. It looks like fun. Safer than the interstate.
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glatt Thursday Apr 12 08:12 AM
And a follow up question. Is terminal velocity variable depending on altitude? Seems like the air is thinner up there, and wouldn't slow you down as much. I would expect the jumper to accelerate quickly up to some terminal velocity, and gradually slow down slightly as the air got thicker, and then finally slow down a lot when the chute is deployed.
Lamplighter Thursday Apr 12 09:35 AM
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Originally Posted by glatt
And a follow up question. Is terminal velocity variable depending on altitude? Seems like the air is thinner up there, and wouldn't slow you down as much. I would expect the jumper to accelerate quickly up to some terminal velocity, and gradually slow down slightly as the air got thicker, and then finally slow down a lot when the chute is deployed.
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SPUCK Friday Apr 13 07:10 AM
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Originally Posted by glatt
And a follow up question. Is terminal velocity variable depending on altitude? Seems like the air is thinner up there, and wouldn't slow you down as much. I would expect the jumper to accelerate quickly up to some terminal velocity, and gradually slow down slightly as the air got thicker, and then finally slow down a lot when the chute is deployed.
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* In this case the splatter will be confined to the inside of the special splatter bag. This will allow easy no-fuss cleanup.
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Originally Posted by Lamplighter
... and a whole lot more when he snags on the Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks.
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