Technically, no it wasn’t true freefall. According to Kittinger’s wiki page, he set USAF records for “highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest drogue-fall (four minutes), and fastest speed by a human being through the atmosphere. These are still current USAF records, but were not submitted for aerospace world records to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).”
The FAI is the “official” body for recognizing aviation records.
Great pictureof Felix just before his jump.
Press conference starting soon on the Red Bull Stratos site.
So where did the balloon go?
I don’t know- they showed it coming down under its own parachute, but then they stopped live coverage.
Okay, looks like it’s starting for real now.
833.9 mph or Mach 1.24. A new world record!
Good to hear! The meter they were showing on screen during his fall didn’t go up nearly that high, so I wasn’t sure if he’d even made it to Mach 1. But they did say that meter wasn’t as accurate, and not the official one.
By the way, how do you measure the speed of a high-altitude small object in free fall like that? I read that there are instruments in a chest pack that he wore, but how is his speed actually measured?
Just a guess- I know one of the instruments was a GPS; maybe that was how they determined his speed.
Loved the comment from Kittinger- “I’d like to give a one-finger salute to all the people who said Felix was going to come apart when he broke the sound barrier.”
He was in the stratosphere; in the stratosphere, temperature actually rises with altitude.
What happens when his balloon bursts? That capsule could kill you if it hit you!:eek:
The capsule came down under its own parachute. I don’t know what happened to the balloon itself.
I’d love to give it to my co-worker, Clueless George, who pffft’d my comments about the speed of fall by citing “that pesky terminal velocity”.
Fucking know it all pedantrist was wrong.
Wow, I had no idea that CAPCOM (the only one at Mission Control allowed to talk to Baumgartner) was Kittinger himself. Ultra-cool!
I understand that Kittenger served as CAPCOM - the primary link between the ground crew and the capsule. How cool is that?
I was watching it on CNN, and have to say their coverage was terrible. The CNN talking heads insisted on keeping up continuous commentary, which meant that you couldn’t hear what was going on. Then, after he opened the capsule door they cut away from the live coverage, apparently afraid of disaster. They resumed live coverage only after his chute opened and stabilized.
The live coverage on the Red Bull YouTube site was continuous, and excellent.
We he landed, he laded on his balls. They’re so big that they acted as an airbag.
I’m still in awe. I thought the most amazing view was from right before he jumped. They showed a glimpse of his view and it was…there are no words.
Brass provides little cushioning.