Jump to content

Felix Baumgartner - record-breaking leap from the edge of space


Guest LilBambi

Recommended Posts

Guest LilBambi

RedbullStratos.com and @redbullstratos

 

Daredevil Jumps, and Lands on His Feet - NYTimes

 

 

Felix Baumgartner, the professional daredevil, jumped from a balloon more than 24 miles above the Earth on Sunday, and landed safely on his feet.

 

felix-jump-640-watermark-21.gif

 

Amazing! In the press conference afterwards, Felix said the best moment was when he was standing on the edge of the capsule just before the jump.

 

 

Fearless Felix did it with a little help from his friends, including Joe Kittenger who did a similar record breaking leap in 1960, but not from quite as high as Felix did today.

 

The livestream also broke Internet records as more than 7.1 Million viewers watched the youtube stream!

 

BTW: Today was also the anniversary of when Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in the X-1!

 

 

For those keeping score, Baumgartner, according to preliminary data, had an exit altitude of 128,100 ft, a free fall of 4 min 20 seconds*. for a distance of 119,846 feet. Baumgartner achieved a maximum velocity of 373 meters per second, 833.9 miles per hour, faster than the speed of sound, or Mach 1.24.

 

From WashPost article, Felix Baumgartner lands after flying faster than the speed of sound (LIVE BLOG)

 

* On August 16, 1960, he (Joe Kittenger) made the final jump, from the Excelsior III, at 102,800 feet (31,300 m). Towing a small drogue parachute for initial stabilization, he fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of 614 miles per hour (988 km/h) ~ Per wikipedia on Joe Kittenger

 

I thought it was awesome that Felix, who had already broken three records today (plus the Internet record of youtube viewers), just happened to pull the cord, just shy of breaking Joe Kittenger's final jump free fall time record, so Joe's free fall time record remains. Just a stroke of luck. He needed to pull the chute before his visor got too fogged up to be able to see to pull the chute.

Edited by LilBambi
added a couple items
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was one of the more intense five minutes I have ever watched on video... simply insane.

 

I think it is incredible that he landed on his feet.

 

Adam

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Meh... not impressive at all. In my younger days, I once did a summersault off the deep end of the pool and came out with no shorts on. (The girls were very impressed).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest LilBambi

I think it is a great thing. I actually was able to watch it. Was amazing. I thought it was amazing that he went for help to overcame his fear of being closed in/claustophobia (the suit for hours on end) just so he could do this.

 

How Claustrophobia Nearly Grounded Supersonic Skydiver Felix Baumgartner - Wired

 

Of all the things Felix Baumgartner had to worry about while pursuing his dream of skydiving from 120,000 feet, the one that almost stopped him cold was…

Claustrophobia.

“Fearless Felix” got a bit freaked out by the pressurized suit he’ll wear during his ascent and, more importantly, his supersonic descent from 23 miles up on Sunday. Getting over his discomfort was a key hurdle to clear as the Austrian adventurer set out to make the highest skydive ever.

Normally, to me, such in my mind, justified fears, would feel like self preservation kicking in. But he pushed past it ... with a little help. But, there are many 'justified' fears, that people must overcome to do great things, courageous things, save lives, break new ground. To see someone overcome that, was simply inspiring to me.

 

3 Leadership Lessons From Felix Baumgartner - Forbes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I know, shocking. When I took the original image and resized it, it came out just fine. It wasn't until afterwards when I uploaded to the forum that the image looked really blurry.... I'm still playing around with it a bit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

V.T. Eric Layton

It's the horsehead nebula. I can see it perfectly well. :yes:

 

Or... it's a blurry shot of you giving us the finger. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest LilBambi

That horsehead nebula is an amazing image. Here's a wallpaper sized version from here:

 

The_Horsehead_Nebula_B33_Orion_Nebula.jpg

 

Can also click through on the image to see the full sized version.

Edited by LilBambi
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That horsehead nebula is an amazing image. Here's a wallpaper sized version from here:

 

I actually got a hi-res version from APOD's website and used GIMP to cut it down to wallpaper size. I noticed the version you linked to has some foo-foo stardust glitter.... probably will appeal to the female audience here.

Edited by Tushman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...