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Chasing the Sound Barrier in a Leap from 23 Miles Up
- AngryParsley 17y agoObligatory picture of awesomeness: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kittinger-jump.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kittinger-jump.jpg The article neglects to mention that he'll be going supersonic in very thin air, so the stresses won't be as great as they would be for supersonic aircraft. Also, as the guy falls the air will get denser and he'll slow down to a more reasonable speed.
- amalcon 17y agoThe terminal velocity of the human body at sea level, even in a streamlined position, is significantly shy of the sound barrier. The thin air is what enables supersonic speed in the first place.
- thefool 17y agoThis is absolutely crazy. Has there been any modeling done to attempt to predict what will happen? This is a great time to make a prediction and see how well it holds later.
- eugenejen 17y agoModeling can't solved all problems. I guess they may drop some dummies from high latitude helium balloons in advance and use sensors to record some data against predictions from modelings.
- cromulent 17y agoAlso this guy: http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_truglia_a_leap_from_the_edge_of_space.html http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_truglia_a_leap_from_the_edge_...
- jksmith 17y ago“I am impossibly, wonderfully alive.” And a lot more alive than he was the day before. To quote Jimmy Stewart in "The Spirit of St. Louis," "We have to know and we have to try." What a great story and project.