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Supersonic Skydiving
Almost six years ago, we talked about the story of Michel Fournier, a retired French army officer who planned to skydive from a height of 25 miles. That plan and a subsequent attempt one year later both failed due to "technical and weather-related problems." Now, at the age of 64, Fournier is set to try again. If everything goes right, his speed will approach 1,000 miles per hour during the early stages of his 15-minute descent. Quoting the NYTimes:
"Fournier faces plenty of perils. Above 40,000 feet, there is not enough oxygen to breathe in the frigid air. He could experience a fatal embolism. And 12 miles up, should his protective systems fail, his blood could begin to boil because of the air pressure, said Henri Marotte, a professor of physiology at the University of Paris and a member of Fournier's team. 'If the human body were exposed at very high altitude, the loss of consciousness is very fast, in five seconds,' Marotte said. 'Brain damage, in three or four minutes.'"
Like that brian regan routine about evil kinevil...
... Hmm .. y'know, I was thinkin' 'Did I leave the bathroom light on?' ... no wait, it was 'Did I turn the iron off... ' No wait! I remember now, I was thinking more like 'AHHHHHHHHH THE PAIN! OH MY ... OWWWWW AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OH NO NOT MY .... AHHHHHHH!'
Reporter: So, what did you think as you took that fall and broke every bone in your body?
Evil:
I for one think that it is an interesting idea if they can reliably pull it off.
Something like this will never be reliably pulled off. The challenges in reaching that altitude are immense, the skydive itself very dangerous, and the costs prohibitive. Many people have been trying to break Joseph Kittinger's 102,800 jump since he did it, and nobody has succeeded. That was in 1960. Everybody who's tried has either died, or postponed their plans due to danger.
When I get older losing my hair,
Many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a valentine,
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine.
If I'd been setting several new records by skydiving from the edge of space, breaking the sound barrier for the first time in history and risking death in several interesting and horrible ways
Would you lock the door?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me,
When I'm sixty-four.
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Here's the excellent video; http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8374792862947777296&q=Joseph+W.+Kittinger+&ei=tK85SI39I5D6jQLmnM3mAw
"Physics is to math as sex is to masturbation." -R. Feynman
If the only part of the spacecraft you plan on re-using is the astronaut, it does make sense to only return that part to Earth...
Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.