Skydiver Aims To Break The Sound Barrier, Not Die
Felix Baumgartner, an Australian skydiver, is looking to jump from 120,000 feet, break the sound barrier and not explode or die in the process — with help from Red Bull of course.
While Red Bull isn’t giving Baumgartner wings, they’re helping pay his rent.
Baumgartner, the Red Bull star who has done everything from crossing the English Channel during free fall using a carbon fiber wing, to BASE jumping off the tallest buildings in the world, is planning to ascend to the stratosphere in a pressurized capsule carried by a massive helium balloon.
Once reaching 120,000 feet, the plan is to depressurize the capsule, open the door and step off.
There are, of course, several problems to overcome when making a jump of this record-breaking magnitude — the previous biggest jump was a measly 102,600 feet.
The new suit being used by Baumgartner is made by David Clark, the same company that made Kittinger’s suit as well as full pressure suits for astronauts and military pilots flying at the edge of the atmosphere in aircraft such as the SR-71 Blackbird, the U-2 and the X-15. The suits provide an artificial atmosphere that allows pilots to survive in what would otherwise be a deadly environment.
Beyond the suit simply keeping his blood from boiling, to break the sound barrier, Barmgartner has to put himself in a drag-reducing position; which can be tricky in a bulky space suit.
I for one hope he makes it, just because the pictures of him breaking the sound barrier will be phenomenal. And it would be a lot harder to find the video of him exploding.
[Via Wired]
