A jump from 120,000 feet above the earth, to the very edge of Space

My son is playing Pokemon White :) but turns around to look at my Red Bull Stratos video :)


How fast will the balloon ascend?

The balloon will ascend at about 1,000 feet per minute. At some points, its ascent could be as fast as 1,400 feet per minute. Upon reaching about 100,000 feet, however, it will likely slow to roughly 750 feet per minute until it levels off at approximately 120,000 feet above sea level.
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I think it will take 2 hours to get up ?
We are 20 minutes now @ 25, 000 feet.
 
Felix Baumgartner, a fellow countryman, is pretty famous around here.

From Wikipedia:
  • In 1999 he claimed the world record for the highest parachute jump from a building when he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

  • On 31 July 2003, Baumgartner became the first person to skydive across the English Channel using a specially made carbon fiber wing.

  • Baumgartner set the world record for the lowest BASE jump ever, when he jumped 95 feet (29 m) from the hand of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.

  • He became the first person to BASE jump from the completed Millau Viaduct in France on 27 June 2004 and the first person to skydive onto, then BASE jump from, the Turning Torso building in Malmö, Sweden on 18 August 2006.

  • On 12 December 2007 he became the first person to jump from the 91st floor observation deck, then went to the 90th floor (about 390 m (1,280 ft)) of the then tallest completed building in the world, Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan.
 
When he jumps it will remind me of the Star Trek (2009) scene in which kirk and the others are are fighting the Romulans on Spocks home planet. (when they jump)
 
stratos.33thou.feet.webp


-47C ? That's Winnipeg Cold.
 
Baumgarten is attempting to break the one set back in the late 1950s, when Air Force captain Joe Kittinger made a series of high-altitude parachute jumps from the open gondola of a helium balloon as part of "Project Excelsior." It was part of ongoing research into how the human body reacts to high altitudes, crucial preparation for future manned space exploration.
Kittinger's first jump, on Nov. 16, 1959, nearly ended in disaster. He jumped from 76,000 feet, but his parachute malfunctioned and opened early, catching on his neck. He spiraled and lost consciousness, despite wearing a specially designed pressurized suit, and was only saved when his backup parachute activated at 10,000 feet. (Unofficial estimates for the G forces he experienced were on the order of 22 times that of earth's gravity.) Undeterred, Kittinger jumped again one month later, from an altitude of 74,700 feet.
Kittinger's record-setting dive occurred on Aug. 16, 1960, from a dizzying altitude of 102,800 feet -- at the very edge of the Earth's atmosphere. He spent 12 very uncomfortable minutes at that altitude, experiencing temperatures of minus 94 degrees F, and pain from a malfunctioning pressurized glove.
Then he jumped, and was in freefall for a full five minutes before it was safe to pop his parachute. He reached speeds of 614 mph, the fastest speed yet attained by a man in the atmosphere.
 
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