More... - 2004-11-19 10:55:41
"Protected against the subzero temperatures by layers of clothes and a pressure suit--he experienced air temperatures as low as minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 degrees Celsius)--and loaded down with gear that almost doubled his weight, he climbed to his maximum altitude in one hour and 31 minutes even though at 43,000 feet (13,106 meters) he began experiencing severe pain in his right hand caused by a failure in his pressure glove and could have scrubbed the mission. He remained at peak altitude for about 12 minutes; then he stepped out of his gondola into the darkness of space. After falling for 13 seconds, his six-foot (1.8-meter) canopy parachute opened and stabilized his fall, preventing the flat spin that could have killed him. Only four minutes and 36 seconds more were needed to bring him down to about 17,500 feet (5,334 meters) where his regular 28-foot (8.5-meter) parachute opened, allowing him to float the rest of the way to Earth. His descent set another record for the longest parachute freefall.
During his descent, he reached speeds up to 614 miles per hour, approaching the speed of sound without the protection of an aircraft or space vehicle. But, he said, he "had absolutely no sense of the speed." His flight and parachute jump demonstrated that, properly protected, it was possible to put a person into near-space and that airmen could exit their aircraft at extremely high altitudes and free fall back into the Earth's atmosphere without dangerous consequences." Link.* * * * * * * * * * * *
whoa. that is cool. I have to wonder about people who do things like that though. Don't they get scared?* * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-11-19 14:35:45
It's an amazing feat, for sure. And dangerous: if not done properly, the story said, your body could begin what I think was called a "flat spin" of 200 rpm. Which seems fairly life-threatening.
As far as being scared, I suppose that once you get up above, oh, four stories or so I guess, I think any additional height is't going to make much additional difference if something goes wrong.
I imagine he could see the curvature of the earth up there. Can you imagine looking down at the curvature of the earth...and then jumping to get back home? Phew.
Another reason he apparently wasn't scared is that he did many such jumps, to research how jet pilots and astronauts could save themselves if something went wrong way up there. Apparently, before his daring research, no one dreamed people could jump safely from almost 20 miles up. Boggles my mind.
* * * * * * * * * * * * A picture of one of his jumps. - 2004-11-19 14:53:29
* * * * * * * * * * * *
plans to smash Kittinger's record, more than 40 years later, with a 25-mile jump--complete with sonic boom. But it's been delayed a couple times and hasn't happened yet.* * * * * * * * * * * * yd - 2004-11-19 15:36:37
Scared is living life day to day with no change. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-11-19 15:37:33
I'd agree with that.* * * * * * * * * * * * Leighton - 2004-11-19 17:58:53
He might not have been that scared because he was used to such things - or had a calm personality. My (testpilot) grandpa once mentioned off-hand how he'd fly prop planes as high as they would go to stall the engine (via low oil pressure at altitude I think). Intentionally choking an unpressurized plane for some engine data seemed insane to me. But he calmly reassured us, "Well,... if the engine didn't restart I had a parachute...". * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-11-19 18:20:07
Phew. He sounds very self-possessed and in control, to say the very least. That is certainly daring. But...how would he restart the engine, I wonder--with a scary steep downward glide into a lower altitude? Could the plane glide & be steerable without propeller power? Would the wind pressure be enough to get the propellers spinning? Yikes. Thanks for that very interesting anecdote Leighton. * * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: