Supersonic Skydive Attempt Delayed 24 Hours

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Supersonic Skydive Attempt Delayed 24 Hours

Posted by samzenpus on Monday October 8, 2012 @07:44AM from the try-again-later dept.

First time accepted submitter poofmeisterp writes "Felix Baumgarner's planned record jump from 120,000 feet has been delayed due to 'bad wind.' Humor aside, it's good that careful thought is going into this potentially record-setting public act. From the article: 'The Austrian - who described himself as "like a tiger in a cage waiting to get out" - was due to leap from his Red Bull Stratos space capsule today at a planned altitude of 36,576m (120,000ft) over the New Mexico desert. However, the weather has forced a 24-hour launch delay. In July, Baumgartner jumped from an altitude of 29,455m (96,640ft), hitting 586.92km/h (364.69mph) during the free fall part of his drop.'"

68 comments

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 07:46 · Score: -1

Tie breaker will be the distance to the furthest blood splatter.
1. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by Dupple · 2012-10-08 08:10 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Jumping from that height, he'll be lucky if he doesn't miss the earth
  
  --
  Watch those corners
2. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 08:13 · Score: 1
  
  Do you know what will be the last thing to go through Baumgarner's mind when he hits the ground? His asshole.
3. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by Jeng · 2012-10-08 08:16 · Score: 1
  
  Probably not.
  I imagine if anything went wrong he would probably be torn limb from limb long before he reaches the ground.
  
  --
  Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
4. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by oobayly · 2012-10-08 08:21 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Only if something distracts him just before he hits the ground. That's apparently how you miss the ground.
5. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 08:43 · Score: 0
  
  But will he hear himself scream?
6. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by crazyjj · 2012-10-08 08:49 · Score: 1
  
  Does he have to survive for it to count as record breaking? I mean, he was fine until he hit the ground, right?
  
  --
  What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
7. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by Jeng · 2012-10-08 08:50 · Score: 1
  
  With this jump if something goes wrong he will be dead long before he hits the ground.
  
  --
  Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
8. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 09:06 · Score: 1
  
  hmmm, his soon-to-be-widow wife is hot ...
9. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by isorox · 2012-10-08 09:46 · Score: 1
  
  Only if something distracts him just before he hits the ground. That's apparently how you miss the ground.
  Like that missing suitcase?
10. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by GenmaKun · 2012-10-08 10:03 · Score: 1
  
  he'll be lucky if he doesn't miss the earth
  I have not succeeded yet but maybe Felix has learned the knack?
  
  "There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss." - HHGTTG
11. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by laejoh · 2012-10-08 22:13 · Score: 1
  
  Hey, that's the whole point about flying, isn't it? Throwing yourself at the floor and completely missing it?
12. Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater? by Joce640k · 2012-10-09 01:04 · Score: 1
  
  The one with the olive oil in it?
  
  --
  No sig today...
If he succeeds, good news for NASA by MrEricSir · 2012-10-08 07:47 · Score: 4, Funny

If he succeeds, NASA will have a cheap way to bring astronauts back from the space station without paying the Russians!

--
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
1. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by Metabolife · 2012-10-08 07:56 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, they only have to figure out how not to have them burn up from the orbital velocities.
2. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by Hentes · 2012-10-08 08:01 · Score: 1
  
  There's a slight difference between 40km and 400km of falling.
3. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by GameboyRMH · 2012-10-08 08:02 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Also the wind shear from passing jokes could be an issue.
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
4. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by AdamsGuitar · 2012-10-08 08:06 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Something along the lines of 360km, I'd imagine.
5. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by KatchooNJ · 2012-10-08 08:10 · Score: 1
  
  I believe that doing anything like this would be only for emergency evacuations without a proper craft. I can't see this being a standard way of coming back to earth.
  
  --
  "Never give up, for that is just the time and place when the tide will change." -Harriet Beecher Stowe ^_^
6. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 08:11 · Score: 0, Flamebait
  
  I know that mommy told you not to eat her "special cookies" on the top shelf, but in your case i would encourage it, maybe you get funny that way.
7. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by Metabolife · 2012-10-08 08:21 · Score: 2
  
  Don't worry, must of the jokes on slashdot tend to sink before they cause any real damage.
8. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by JustOK · 2012-10-08 08:44 · Score: 1
  
  Less than that if they use imperial measurements.
  
  --
  rewriting history since 2109
9. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by JustOK · 2012-10-08 08:45 · Score: 1
  
  He blocks cookies when browsing.
  
  --
  rewriting history since 2109
10. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by tool462 · 2012-10-08 08:50 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Give him a break. You can't go *whoosh* in a vacuum...
11. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by NatasRevol · 2012-10-08 09:13 · Score: 2
  
  kilo-miles?
  
  --
  There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
12. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 09:15 · Score: 0
  
  I think the issue is more with the orbital velocity. They aren't actually weightless, you know, they're simply balancing gravity with centripetal force by orbiting at 15,000kph.
  That speed is what causes the majority of the issues, although perhaps falling from 400km would be devastatingly fast in it's own way, but certainly nothing like re-entry from orbit.
13. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by BluBrick · 2012-10-08 09:23 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I believe that doing anything like this would be only for emergency evacuations without a proper craft. I can't see this being a standard way of coming back to earth.
  Of course it would become the standard - just as low-altitude skydiving has become the standard manner of returning airplane passengers to the ground.
  PROTIP: That whooshing sound you can hear is not made by Felix Baumgartner.
  
  --
  Ahh - My eye!
  The doctor said I'm not supposed to get Slashdot in it!
14. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by steelfood · 2012-10-08 10:16 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Look ma, brown contrails!
  
  --
  "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
15. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by turp182 · 2012-10-08 10:37 · Score: 2
  
  How much rocket propellant would it take to put an astronaut into a good entry path and at a speed of maybe 1,000 mph?
  I ask because I'm lazy and watching the kids.
  
  --
  BlameBillCosby.com
16. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by speederaser · 2012-10-08 14:14 · Score: 1
  
  How much rocket propellant would it take to put an astronaut into a good entry path and at a speed of maybe 1,000 mph?
  Orbital velocity is 17,500 mph so you'd need enough delta-V to decelerate 16,500 mph. A capsule with a heatshield is lighter and easier to launch than the amount of fuel you would need to get that much delta-V.
17. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by kevmeister · 2012-10-08 15:26 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  You might be surprised to learn that NASA has already been there and done that.
  Back in the early '60s, one of the designs for emergency astronaut return from a space "vehicle" was to leave the capsule, climb into a plastic bag over their space suit, fill it with ablative foam, and fire a small, rocket to de-orbit. The re-entry would be in a physical position that would produce a "butt down" re-entry and a chest-mounted parachute would deploy automatically.
  The system was developed by GE and called "MOOSE" for Man Out Of Space Easiest. Some testing was done by GE, but NASA decided that they were not interested.
  
  --
  Kevin Oberman, Network Engineer, Retired
18. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by MrEricSir · 2012-10-08 17:48 · Score: 1
  
  This concept sounds so ridiculous I worried I might be getting trolled, but sure enough here's the Wikipedia article on MOOSE.
  
  --
  There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
19. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by Zoxed · 2012-10-08 18:53 · Score: 1
  
  Give him a break. You can't go *whoosh* in a vacuum...
  This is Slashdot: the correct phrasing is "In space no-one can hear you whoosh" ;-)
20. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by laejoh · 2012-10-08 22:15 · Score: 1
  
  And now it has become a postmodern object system for Perl 5 that takes the tedium out of writing object-oriented Perl. How things have changed!
21. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by Joce640k · 2012-10-09 01:06 · Score: 1
  
  If he succeeds, NASA will have a cheap way to bring astronauts back from the space station without paying the Russians!
  Small problem: The ISS has 17000 mph horizontal velocity...
  
  --
  No sig today...
22. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-09 03:16 · Score: 0
  
  I'll do the math for you.
  The difference is 360 km.
23. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by JTsyo · 2012-10-09 03:37 · Score: 1
  
  They can't run that out as they are landing? Maybe a 2nd parachute for horizontal drag?
24. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-11 06:07 · Score: 0
  
  Look ma, brown contrails!
  Some stuff that really deserved a mod-up doesn't get it. *ROFL*
25. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by Chas · 2012-10-14 06:25 · Score: 1
  
  Give him a break. You can't go *whoosh* in a vacuum...
  Once. You go *whoosh* ONCE.
  
  --
  
  Chas - The one, the only.
  THANK GOD!!!
26. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by Austerity+Empowers · 2012-10-14 09:15 · Score: 1
  
  In space, George Lucas can help us all hear you *whoosh*
27. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by celtic_hackr · 2012-10-14 17:23 · Score: 1
  
  Sure, no problem! All we'd have to do is pump some air into space to make the parachutes work.
28. Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA by JTsyo · 2012-10-15 06:59 · Score: 1
  
  no need to slow down until the atmosphere is thicker anyway.
Another day alive! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 07:51 · Score: 0, Troll

Good for him!
Right guy for the job, I guess by ItsJustAPseudonym · 2012-10-08 08:00 · Score: 1

"like a tiger in a cage waiting to get out"
It occurs to me that, if you are Red Bull, and you are going to sponsor a guy to do a giant dive from the edge of space, it is good to know that the guy will not get up there and chicken-out. Baumgartner apparently poses no such risk.
1. Re:Right guy for the job, I guess by tomhath · 2012-10-08 12:06 · Score: 1
  
  Yup. And another day of milking the publicity doesn't hurt either.
Bad wind, eh? by dkleinsc · 2012-10-08 08:00 · Score: 1

"I knew I shouldn't have had that burrito right before the big jump!"

--
I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
Obligatory Queen by srussia · 2012-10-08 08:07 · Score: 1

"like a tiger in a cage waiting to get out"
I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go go go
There's no stopping me

I'm burning through the skies Yeah!
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man of you

--
Set your phasers on "funky"!
1. Re:Obligatory Queen by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 09:10 · Score: 0
  
  It's "Supersonic man outa you" or "Supersonic woman of you" /Queen Nerd
Obiligatory by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 08:12 · Score: 0

Hopefully, his accelerometer is installed correctly and his chute opens at the right time.
1. Re:Obiligatory by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 08:29 · Score: 0
  
  Hopefully, I can spell obligatory correctly!
Wings by Anne_Nonymous · 2012-10-08 08:19 · Score: 1

>> bad wind
Apparently wings aren't the only thing Red Bull gives you.
Official time... by elistan · 2012-10-08 08:28 · Score: 1

As of this posting, the event is scheduled to start at 6am MDT (noon UTC if I'm converting correctly) on Tuesday, October 9. The official webpage is http://www.redbullstratos.com/
Crap. by ackthpt · 2012-10-08 08:33 · Score: 1

With my luck he will impact my jet, as I fly cross country tomorrow.

--

A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
1. Re:Crap. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 08:54 · Score: 1
  
  So instead of a bird strike....a man strike? So if this guy manages to survive he will be deemed a terrorist for attacking a plane and be shipped off to Gitmo. Nice.
2. Re:Crap. by Jeng · 2012-10-08 12:48 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  If so the last noise he makes may be very similar to how I imagine someone would pronounce your screen name.
  
  --
  Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
3. Re:Crap. by poofmeisterp · 2012-10-11 06:11 · Score: 1
  
  If so the last noise he makes may be very similar to how I imagine someone would pronounce your screen name.
  If prop plane, roll the "th".
Darwin sleepily lifts his head by musth · 2012-10-08 08:59 · Score: 2

If he wises up between now and tomorrow morning, he'll delay it forever. Red Bull endorsement money and testosterone are sending him the wrong signals.
I would put down $50 that he'll either die or suffer serious and probably permanent injury from this, and I'm $40K in the hole (not from gambling).
1. Re:Darwin sleepily lifts his head by Jeng · 2012-10-08 09:11 · Score: 1
  
  If I had anyway of collecting on that I would take you up on that and I normally do not gamble.
  This will go without a hitch.
  Well, if anything is going to fail I bet it will be the balloon on the way up which would still leave him without injury.
  If anything goes wrong on the way down he will die before he hits the ground.
  
  --
  Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
2. Re:Darwin sleepily lifts his head by ThatsMyNick · 2012-10-08 09:52 · Score: 1
  
  I would take that bet. These things are very much predictable. You can simulated all the scenarios, and test it before hand on the guy. The guy has done similar jumps before. He has never broken sound barrier, but the simulations and testing should take care of it.
3. Re:Darwin sleepily lifts his head by drcheap · 2012-10-08 17:31 · Score: 1
  
  Good luck collecting that 50 bux if you win...he said he's already $40K in the hole, which means he's not really keen on the whole paying thing ;)
4. Re:Darwin sleepily lifts his head by TheLink · 2012-10-08 20:50 · Score: 1
  
  If he's 40K in the hole it means he's way too keen on the paying thing.
  --
  
  Too many replies beneath your current threshold
5. Re:Darwin sleepily lifts his head by musth · 2012-10-09 13:11 · Score: 1
  
  Medical debts and student loans, dillhole.
Austrian vs iPhone by Penurious+Penguin · 2012-10-08 09:32 · Score: 4, Funny

Austrian:
Max Altitude =120,000 ft
Max Speed = 364 mph

iPhone:
Max Altitude = 100,000
Max Speed = 150 mph

Implications: Apple should patent Austrians

--
Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
1. Re:Austrian vs iPhone by Nationless · 2012-10-14 04:44 · Score: 2
  
  No no no.
  Implications: Apple should SUE Austria.
Words of wisdom from Ivanova by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 09:54 · Score: 0

"No boom *today*. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow."
This is what it will look like by gr8_phk · 2012-10-08 10:58 · Score: 1

If he were to ride down in a car.

Radar Rider

Sorry, it make me think of that scene for some reason...
Cloud much? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-08 13:12 · Score: 0

At first i read 'Skydrive'
Trajectory by Bomazi · 2012-10-08 15:14 · Score: 1

I was curious about what it would take to break the sound barrier and thus wrote some code to simulate his jump. This plot shows what it could look like. It is vastly simplified and thus not quite correct but gives a general feel of the trajectory. It correspond to a jumper with the minimal aerodynamic performance needed to break the sound barrier from an altitude of 120'000 feet. This is achieved at an altitude of about 28 kilometers and an air density of 2% that at sea level. Constructive remarks are appreciated.