Slashdot Mirror
Balloonists Attempt World Altitude Record
ACey writes "BBC News is reporting on the latest attempt to break the balloon altitude world record. Qinetiq 1 is scheduled to launch tomorrow, 2nd September 2003, from the coast of Cornwall, UK, and aims to reach 132,000 feet or 25 miles in a flight that could last 12 hours. The balloon is so big (1,250 feet tall) that it should be visible from most of the UK, Ireland and Western France as it climbs. Good luck to them!"
No, the xprize requirement is 65 miles -- another 40 miles more than the stated goal.
...40,000 metres (40 kilometres) up in a balloon 381 metres tall...
That's terminal velocity near sea level, at 100,000 feet the air resistance is much lower, therefore terminal velocity will be greatly increased.
Terminal velocity is dependent on the density of the atomosphere. One may max out at 120-200 mph while skydiving from 15,000 feet, but the atomosphere is a lot less dense 100,000 feet up, therefore the terminal velocity would be much faster.
At higher altitudes, the air is thinner, drag resistance is less, so terminal velocity is much higher.
In 1960, Colonel Joe Kittinger jumped from 102,800 feet, reputedly reaching speeds of 714mph.
http://www.cameronballoons.co.uk/index.cfm
"The worlds' largest balloon maker"
based in Bristol in the westcountry where they have one of the worlds' largest balloon festivals every year.
h
Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious
The original was Captain Joseph Kittinger who freefell for some 4.5 minutes. He had serious thrill issues.
"Consensus" in science is _always_ a political construct.
Here is a quick rundown on the gist of the Kittinger/Excelsior story that should give you an overview... and more terms for googling the backgrounds:
p e. htm
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/coldwar/
+++ath0
This was also true of Yuri Garagin in Vostock 1, who having orbited in 1961 at up to about 320 km (200 miles), ejected on the way down at about 7 km (23,000 feet). All by design.
um, I think you mean Columbia,
Actually, I think he means Challenger. When the Challenger exploded during launch, it is believed that the cockpit portion of the shuttle remained intact until impacting the ocean. Had the crew had the ability to jump from altitude, who knows...
Some people have a way with words, and some people, um, thingy.
"Should the suits fail at 35,000 feet (10,668 metres) Andy and Colin would lose consciousness. At 80,000 feet (24,384 metres) the pilots would die within a matter of seconds, as the low pressure would make their blood boil almost immediately."
All this gory talk makes good copy, but it ain't necessarily so: You would lose fluids as vapour from your airways, but this would be gradual. Images of blood boiling in your tortured veins is simply alarmist. Your blood pressure is high enough, and your veinous system is elastic and resilient enough to prevent bulk boiling occurring. More details are here , and essentially all over the web. The seminal publication is "Bioastronautics Data Book, Second edition, NASA SP-3006", which I can't find online, unfortunately. Them Rocket Scientists sure know lotsa stuff!
T&K.
Political language
it does!
type "100 feet in meters" into google and see what happens.
Loss of pressure has happened in one famous incident at NASA in the eighties when a space suit failed in a test chamber. The chamber was rapidly repressurized and the tester showed no ill effects (i.e., no bends). The bends take some time to happen. When diving, it may take some tens of minutes for the effects to become severe. Small N2 bubbles in the blood are nasty but until they become larger i.e., by aggregation, they are not major. With immediate recompression, the N2 will quickly dissolve again.
The Soyuz 11 incident was also disclosed when the Russians started cooperating with NASA. In this case, the crew seemed to have about 30 seconds (the cabin took a little time to depressurize).
There is even an idea that has been floating around about having an unpressurised space suit - i.e., just the helmet would be pressurized. The rest of the suit would be elasticated, which would provide counter-pressure to the skin, to prevent swelling.
See my journal, I write things there