Supersonic Skydive Attempt Delayed 24 Hours

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.'"

Comments

If he succeeds, good news for NASA

[MrEricSir]

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

Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA

[GameboyRMH]

Also the wind shear from passing jokes could be an issue.

Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA

[AdamsGuitar]

Something along the lines of 360km, I'd imagine.

Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA

[BluBrick]

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.

Re:If he succeeds, good news for NASA

[kevmeister]

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.

Re:Any guesses on the diameter of the crater?

[oobayly]

Only if something distracts him just before he hits the ground. That's apparently how you miss the ground.

Austrian vs iPhone

[Penurious Penguin]

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

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

Implications: Apple should patent Austrians

Re:Crap.

[Jeng]

If so the last noise he makes may be very similar to how I imagine someone would pronounce your screen name.