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Skydiver To Break Sound Barrier During Free-Fall

Posted by Soulskill on from the some-velocities-are-more-terminal-than-others dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Over fifty years ago, American Joe Kittinger made history by leaping from a balloon at 102,800 ft, and although many have sought to repeat the feat, all have failed. Now, BBC reports that Austrian extreme sportsman Felix Baumgartner will try to break the long-standing record for the highest ever parachute jump, skydiving from a balloon sent to at least 120,000 ft, and it is likely that 35 seconds into in his long free-fall of more than five minutes, he will exceed the speed of sound — the first person to do so without the aid of a machine. 'No-one really knows what that will be like,' says Baumgartner. Although challenges in the endeavor include coping with freezing temperatures and ultra-thin air, a key objective for Baumgartner will be to try to maintain a good attitude during the descent and prevent his body from going into a spin and blacking out. 'The fact is you have a lot of different airflows coming around your body; and some parts of your body are in supersonic flow and some parts are in transonic flow. What kind of reaction that creates, I can't tell you,' adds Baumgartner."

12 of 311 comments (clear)

  1. Anyone else think.. by pnewhook · · Score: 4, Funny

    So I guess I'm not the only one to think this guy is going to die doing this stunt.

    --
    Tesla was a genius. Edison however was a overrated hack who liked to torture puppies.
  2. Re:Star Trek by tverbeek · · Score: 5, Funny

    Superman throwing that island into space then falling for me.

    That bit about Superman falling for you? That was a dream. :)

    --
    http://alternatives.rzero.com/
  3. Failed how? by Greger47 · · Score: 5, Funny

    American Joe Kittinger made history by leaping from a balloon at 102,800 ft, and although many have sought to repeat the feat, all have failed.

    Failed?!? How can you fail that? Throw yourself self off the balloon and miss the ground?

    /greger

    1. Re:Failed how? by Mitchell314 · · Score: 5, Funny

      They're all still in orbit.

      --
      I read TFA and all I got was this lousy cookie
  4. Re:I'll bet by kojimoto_atusis · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's really going to hurt.

    I'm just going to say... Best Darwin award EVER!

  5. The real question is ... by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... will he bounce?

  6. Re:no sound = no sound barrier by dziban303 · · Score: 4, Funny

    If my calculations are correct, it's 623 ergs/quartic coloumb-acre.

  7. Re:A simple machine by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 4, Funny

    You must be a big hit at the parties.

    --
    "linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
  8. Supplemental question by bobdotorg · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you fart while exceeding the speed of sound, will it make a noise?

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    __ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
  9. golfer by mordorph · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Difference between a bad golfer and a bad skydiver? one goes *Whack*... "D@mn". the other goes "D@mn"...Whack.

  10. Re:no sound = no sound barrier by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Funny

    "There is an abrupt drag rise right around Mach 1, so there's a significant chance he could stabilize at, say, Mach 0.98 and be unable to accelerate further."

    He will need a very pointy hat.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  11. Re:no sound = no sound barrier by zoloto · · Score: 4, Funny

    You never do until they leave. :(