[quote="PopSci"]Here’s Felix Baumgartner’s plan: Float a balloon to 120,000 feet. Jump out. Break the sound barrier. Don’t die. Simple, right?
If Baumgartner, a world famous base jumper and skydiver, pulls off the feat, he’ll set the record for the world’s highest jump and become the first person to break the sound barrier with his body alone. During the jump, he’ll also collect data on how the human body reacts to a fall from such heights, which could be useful for planning orbital escape plans for future space tourists and astronauts.
Dubbed the Red Bull Stratos and sponsored by the energy drink company, the jump will send Baumgartner to the stratosphere in a small space capsule, lifted by a helium-filled balloon. Once he reaches 120,000 feet after three hours of ascension, ground control will give him the “all clearâ€
Serious Free-falling
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rhoenix
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#1 Serious Free-falling
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Mayabird
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The atmosphere up where he'd be breaking the sound barrier isn't very thick, and some of the extremely high skydivers of the past have gotten pretty close to it with no ill effects. The big danger is going into a spin.