# Free fall from sky



## theserpent (Oct 9, 2012)

Hey guys check this out,Mods if this is the wrong place please move the thread
It's live

Live Now! - Red Bull Stratos - freefall from the edge of space - YouTube


kydiver Felix Baumgartner is aiming to pull off a record-breaking free-fall jump from the edge of space Tuesday, wearing nothing but a space suit, a helmet and a parachute. ( Watch video below or click here: *bit.ly/R42MRz )
His goal is not only to jump from a higher altitude than anyone ever has -- 120,000 feet, more than three times the cruising altitude of the average airliner. He also hopes to be the first person to break the sound barrier, without the aid of anything besides the space suit. At that altitude, the thin air provides so little resistance that after just 40 seconds, he is expected to be free-falling faster than 690 miles an hour.

"I'm not nuts," Baumgartner said when CNN first interviewed him about the project in 2010. "You know, our records are meant to be broken, and I'm a very competitive person. I like the challenge."

But on a more serious note, he added, "Of course I'm afraid of dying, because I worked so hard to reach this level. You know, I'm living a good life. I think the most important thing I'm doing is to come back alive."



After years of preparations and untold costs to his primary sponsor Red Bull, the jump is scheduled for Tuesday morning at dawn. Baumgartner expects to spend two or three hours on the ascent, in a capsule hanging from a helium balloon. Then he will climb out of his capsule, jump off the step with a bunny hop and form a crouched "delta" position to maximize his speed. He plans to fall 115,000 feet in less than five minutes, before deploying a parachute for the final 5,000 feet to earth.

The attempt has serious risks. He and his team have practiced how he can avoid getting trapped in a dangerous "horizontal spin." And at temperatures that could hit 70 degrees below zero Fahrenheit or lower, and an atmosphere so thin that his blood would vaporize if he were unprotected, his life will depend on the integrity of his pressure suit. And if he loses consciousness during the five-minute plunge, he will survive only if his parachute deploys automatically.

Another unknown: the effects on the body of breaking the sound barrier. While reaching such speeds can cause stress on an aircraft, planners for this jump believe that there will be little effect on Baumgartner, because he will be at an altitude at which there is so little air, shock waves are barely transmitted.

Baumgartner is an Austrian helicopter pilot and former soldier who has BASE jumped from landmarks like the Petronas Towers in Malaysia and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. He has been preparing for five years -- both physically and mentally.

"You have to remember all the procedures," he said in an interview during testing for the jump. "You know you're in a really hostile environment. And you cannot think about anything else. You have to be focused. Otherwise, you're gonna die."

The balloon, over 500 feet tall at launch, is light and translucent. The material is only .0008 of an inch thick, and it will change shape and size as it rises. The pressurized helmet and suit, which restrict Baumgartner's mobility and weigh 100 pounds, have been equipped with sensors and recorders to measure everything from his speed to his heart rate. Cameras on the ground and on the capsule will transmit live images of his attempt.

Baumgartner was not doing interviews on the eve of the jump, but his performance coach Andy Walshe on Sunday described him as mentally well-prepared.

"He knows that he's rehearsed it and knows what to do," he said. "We want him in the right state of mind. We ask him to reflect on what he's done, what he's been through and what he's achieving for himself personally, so he can relax and focus."

The record is currently held by Col. Joe Kittinger, who in 1960 jumped from 102,800 feet as part of a U.S. Air Force mission. On this attempt, 52 years later, Kittinger is a consultant and mentor.

He has also been giving Baumgartner advice on what to expect. For example, he described what it feels like to fall through space when there is so little air: "There's no way you can tell how fast you're going, because there's no visual cues."

But Kittinger rejects any suggestion that he is jealous that Baumgartner is poised to beat his record.

"Oh no. I'm delighted," he told CNN recently. "He's advancing science, and he'll do a great job.


Read more: *www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/sci...ee-fall-jump-from-edge-of-space#ixzz28oDTKAzQ


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## raghupratap (Oct 10, 2012)

Yes, I read the news too. I logged into CNet - they had scheduled a live coverage of the jump. But the jump was postponed due to adverse weather conditions.


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## manojbhagat (Oct 10, 2012)

Too cool. @raghupratap-Do you know when is it going to happen in that case?


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## trublu (Oct 10, 2012)

I've been following this on Engadget for the last two days. If weather conditions are favourable, he will make the jump tomorrow.


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## RCuber (Oct 14, 2012)

Just finished watching this  ..


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## kg11sgbg (Oct 15, 2012)

HE,*did it*.
According to The Telegraph and other daily news,Felix Baumgartner jumped (leapt into the atmosphere) from a balloon within the *'STRATOSPHERE'* at a height of 38Km above the surface of Earth(0 level), YESTERDAY...14/10/2012(Sunday).
Height of Mt. Everest is 8.848 Km approx.


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## abhijit_reddevil (Oct 15, 2012)

Yes he did it and landed safely back to earth. What an astonishing feat!!

Felix Baumgartner 'breaks speed of sound' - Telegraph


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## doomgiver (Oct 15, 2012)

NASA, why dont you do something like this, just to show you are there?


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## d6bmg (Oct 15, 2012)

Read that in today's newspaper. Sounds amazing! really!


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## Faun (Oct 15, 2012)

*i.imgur.com/J3gsv.gif


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## Vyom (Oct 15, 2012)

Any Youtube feed?


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## axes2t2 (Oct 15, 2012)

Saw the vid at a friends place.Mast hein.


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## Faun (Oct 16, 2012)

*sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/302641_418818001519319_681706058_n.jpg


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## Vyom (Oct 17, 2012)

Faun said:


> *sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/302641_418818001519319_681706058_n.jpg



Really me...


axes2t2 said:


> Mast hein.



How this jump was greatly axxagerated.

*uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/five-reasons-why-baumgartner-jump-not-great-unless-163435075.html


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## Hrishi (Oct 17, 2012)

hmmmm..got late to the party...// saw it today on youtube, unfortunately couldn't find the entire free fall clip..they just showed couple of shots.


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## doomgiver (Oct 17, 2012)

Vyom said:


> How this jump was greatly axxagerated.
> 
> Five reasons why Baumgartner


yeah, its just a guy jumping off a baloon, people have been doing it for decades.
now, if he had a jetpack, and a suit that released fireworks all the way down, that'd be an awesome sight!!


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## d6bmg (Oct 17, 2012)

doomgiver said:


> now, if he had a jetpack, and a suit that released fireworks all the way down, that'd be an awesome sight!!




That part is reserved for you.


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## Faun (Oct 17, 2012)

It's ironical that Red Bull has enough to spend for this but NASA has to bear fund cuts at the same time.


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## Vyom (Oct 17, 2012)

Faun said:


> It's ironical that Red Bull has enough to spend for this but NASA has to bear fund cuts at the same time.



Well, you forgot .. Only Red Bull "gives you wings".


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## RCuber (Oct 17, 2012)

^^ LOL


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## Faun (Oct 17, 2012)

Vyom said:


> Well, you forgot .. Only Red Bull "gives you wings".



only if he grew wings during the descent popping a red full fizz.


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## Vyom (Oct 17, 2012)

Well. I am just glad I replied to the possibly only post of yours in recent times which made a bit sense to me! 

Hint: It is not this one: 





Faun said:


> only if he grew wings during the descent popping a red full fizz.


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## Faun (Oct 17, 2012)

^^It's safer to stays on the roads.

*i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/418/382/aa3.gif


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