# World record sky dive (today)...why was his freefall time less than the previous record? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 15, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740 "2012-10-15T01:59:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/1 "2012-10-15T01:59:32Z")
Today Felic Baumgartner broke a world record for the highest skydive by jumping from a bit over 24 miles up (~128,000 feet). The previous record was set in 1960 by Joseph Kittinger jumping from a bit over 100,000 feet. Yet in [this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uGh64Xo4axc#t=473s) of Baumgartner’s jump you see he missed the freefall record by about 20 seconds. My question is why? While he started from a higher altitude and hit a higher speed (which would make you think he’d get to the ground quicker) I would think air resistance would force terminal velocity on him so at, say, 5000 feet he’d be going no quicker than any parachutist who jumped from a bit higher than that. Obviously I am missing something. I expect with all the money and effort that goes into this they all knew the parameters of his jump from start to finish. Still, seems counter-intuitive. What is happening here? ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/2 "2012-10-15T02:16:07Z")
My swag. His suit was more streamlined so his term velocity in the atmosphere was faster. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/3 "2012-10-15T02:19:39Z")
Just a WAG, but his visor was fogging up I think he may have pulled his parachute a little earlier than was planned based on that. (Maybe the almost uncontrolled spinning earlier disoriented him?) ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/4 "2012-10-15T02:19:39Z")
Woah! I just saw a picture of the previous jump and the suit looked like a bloated sumo wrestling suit. My SWAG might be right. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/5 "2012-10-15T02:19:43Z")
I thought I read that his faceplate fogged up so he pulled the cord early but I don’t have time to find a cite right now. Sounds a little fishy though. He was so heavily instrumented and monitored you’d think the ground crew could have just told him wen it was time to deploy. I guess I do have time: [Red Bull Stratos - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Bull_Stratos#Jump_and_descent) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/6 "2012-10-15T02:24:03Z")
There were numerous times during the pre-drop checklists where CAPCOM asked him to do something and he didn’t do it, didn’t respond, and had to be told again; might have been communication error, might have been nerves, might have been really noisy with all those people talking in the background. I think, rather than waiting for them to tell me “Okay… NOW!” I would err on the side of not winning the record for highest fall resulting in pancake. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/7 "2012-10-15T02:26:08Z")
I watched it live and my first thought was that, he had the highest freefall, the highest balloon flight, and probably the fastest freefall (plus Mach 1) so I wouldn’t be surprised if he deliberately let Kittenger keep the longest freefall record by a few seconds. Pure speculation, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/8 "2012-10-15T02:30:28Z")
Kittinger used a drogue chute for stability, so even though he was falling very fast, his average rate of descent was slower the Baumgartner’s. Kittinger’s top speed was 614 mph, Baumgartner’s was 834 mph. Also, because he used a drogue, he wasn’t technically in freefall. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/9 "2012-10-15T02:32:56Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I watched it live and my first thought was that, he had the highest freefall, the highest balloon flight, and probably the fastest freefall (plus Mach 1) so I wouldn’t be surprised if he deliberately let Kittenger keep the longest freefall record by a few seconds. Nope, Kittenger didn’t have the longest freefall record anymore: > **[Yevgeny Andreyev (colonel)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeni_Nikolayevich_Andreyev)** > > Yevgeny Nikolayevich Andreyev (Russian: Евгений Андреев; 4 September 1926 – 9 February 2000) was a colonel in the Soviet Air Force. He set an official record for the longest-distance free-fall parachute jump on 1 November 1962, which the Guinness Book of Records put at 24,500 metres (80,400 ft). The previous record holder for highest free-fall jump was Joseph Kittinger. Although Andreyev did not break the record for highest parachute jump, also held by Kittinger, Kittinger's jump was stabil Andre... It sounds more like he was rattled by the spin and the visor fogging up. He knew he had already broken 3 records, breaking four probably just didn’t seem worth while, so he pulled the cord early. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/10 "2012-10-15T03:05:16Z")
I’m having a hard time finding a category for “longest time in freefall”. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) is the governing body that recognizes aviation records. [Here is their page](http://www.fai.org/record-parachuting) for parachuting records. The only record listed for Andreyev is “longest freefall” meaning distance- which Baumgartner broke today. Kittinger’s records were never submitted to the FAI so he didn’t “officially” hold any records, even though he undisputedly had jumped from a higher altitude than anyone, until Baumgartner. Edit: [Cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kittinger#Project_Excelsior) for Kittinger’s records ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/11 "2012-10-15T03:15:20Z")
Surely, the record for longest time in freefall is [Valeri Polyakov](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov), at 437 days 18 hours? ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/12 "2012-10-15T03:18:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Surely, the record for longest time in freefall is [Valeri Polyakov](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valeri_Polyakov), at 437 days 18 hours? And he wasn’t wearing a parachute! ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/13 "2012-10-15T04:15:08Z")
This doesn’t have to do with the freefall time, but everyone watching here was wondering what that big red button on the side of the capsule was for. [Here’s a picture](http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/REU-USA-SPACE_SKYDIVE.jpg) - it’s mounted on a post on the right side of the railing, and it looked like Baumgartner pushed it right before he fell. Mr. Legend has a theory that it was to start the landing sequence for the capsule; I’ve found a number of sites that show pictures of the capsule in production and discuss the technology, but I don’t see the post with the button on it in the earlier pictures and I haven’t found a mention of it. Does anyone know? (And did anyone else have to fight the urge to scream, “No, Felix! Don’t do it!” as he fell off that thing?) ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/14 "2012-10-15T11:22:09Z")
[Here is an article](http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-10/how-felix-baumgartner%E2%80%99s-skydive-should-unfold) that describes the exit procedure in detail. The big red button is a burst switch connected to the cameras on the capsule: > [@](#): > > One of the things we’ve added to the handrail is a burst switch. We have 9 high-def cameras on the capsule, and we have all these solid state circuit breakers that we can turn on and off, but we want to keep it simple: When Felix hits that switch, it’s going to burst images. You’ll see him step to the edge and give his famous salute, this time when he’s ready he’ll hit that switch and bunny hop off. Lots of info about the entire mission is available on the [Red Bull Stratos site](http://www.redbullstratos.com/). ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/15 "2012-10-16T00:43:25Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > [Here is an article](http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-10/how-felix-baumgartner%E2%80%99s-skydive-should-unfold) that describes the exit procedure in detail. The big red button is a burst switch connected to the cameras on the capsule: Ohhhh…a BURST switch. Thanks for the link - now, is a “burst switch” something that other people know about that I haven’t run across yet in my life? Because all the references to it online talk about it as if everyone knows what it means. From the link: > [@](#): > > we want to keep it simple: When Felix hits that switch, it’s going to burst images. So there we are. Burst images. Huh. Really, though, thanks for the link. That’s a very cool article and a lot more comprehensive than the Red Bull one, which seems more focused on graphics. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/16 "2012-10-16T00:53:07Z")
> [@InternetLegend](#): > > Ohhhh…a BURST switch. Thanks for the link - now, is a “burst switch” something that other people know about that I haven’t run across yet in my life? No it wouldn’t be obvious what it was unless you knew something about high speed cameras. The 9 Hi-Def camera’s they had were all shooting very high frame rate to get slow motion. Rather than tape they have flash memory storage and that fills up very quickly when shooting high speed, probably they had less than a minute of shooting time at high frame rate. So he pushes the red button, that starts all the cameras shooting high speed, then he jumps. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/17 "2012-10-16T00:59:57Z")
Thank you! I must seem pretty obtuse, but that was a really big red button, and we just couldn’t let it go! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/18 "2012-10-16T01:20:19Z")
side question: how did he fall at over 800mph? i thought terminal velocity for a falling human was around 140. i presume some kind of aerodynamic shape/suite/aiming his body factors in, but that’s a shit ton faster than terminal velo, even then. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/19 "2012-10-16T01:34:43Z")
> [@Dr.Colossus](#): > > side question: how did he fall at over 800mph? i thought terminal velocity for a falling human was around 140. i presume some kind of aerodynamic shape/suite/aiming his body factors in, but that’s a shit ton faster than terminal velo, even then. He jumped from a height where he was above almost all of the atmosphere. When he was initially falling, it was in a near-vacuum, so there wasn’t much air to cause drag. When he got into the deeper atmosphere, his speed dropped to a more reasonable velocity. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740/20 "2012-10-16T01:51:53Z")
> [@AndrewL](#): > > He jumped from a height where he was above almost all of the atmosphere. When he was initially falling, it was in a near-vacuum, so there wasn’t much air to cause drag. When he got into the deeper atmosphere, his speed dropped to a more reasonable velocity. what even. in that case, jumping should cause you to fall “up,” no? wouldn’t you need even MORE propulsion in a “near vacuum” to fly through it? (\*i say that because gravity wouldn’t be so strongly affecting you) (bear with me. i really am this stupid). i thought his high speed of falling was due to the longer distance to build up speed, not the vacuum causing less drag–i mean, that drag would cause re-entry level burn-friction when he hit atmosphere, would it not? thus burning him up/slowing him way the fuck down? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/world-record-sky-dive-today-why-was-his-freefall-time-less-than-the-previous-record/637740.md?page=2)