Record Skydive: Twenty-three Mile Jump

By Colin Sullivan

Imagine this: you float up 23 into the air in a big balloon, then wearing nothing but a spacesuit jump, reach a top speed faster than that of the speed of sound, and a few minutes later, deploy your parachute and land on the ground. Sounds next to impossible. However, for Austrian pilot Felix Baumgartner, this will soon become a reality as he attempts to break many records when he jumps out a balloon 23 miles in the air later this week.

            Baumgartner has been training for this mission for years now. He is a former helicopter pilot in the Austrian air force and a professional skydiver. "I'm not nuts," Baumgartner said. "You know, our records are meant to be broken, and I'm a very competitive person. I like the challenge," (CNN.com).

            For two to three hours, Baumgartner will ride inside a small capsule that is being lifted into the air by a massive balloon. Once he reaches an altitude of 120,000 feet (23 miles above sea level), he will jump from the capsule, wearing a pressurized spacesuit. At this altitude, Baumgartner will be more than three times higher than most commercial airplanes fly. He will be able to see the curvature of the earth, and there will be almost no atmosphere that for about 40 seconds, Baumgartner will fall with little to no wind resistance. As a result, he will reach a top speed of about 690 miles per hour, faster than the speed of sound. This is about 190 mph faster than the average commercial airplane.

            The absence of an atmosphere at this altitude also presents a major problem for Baumgartner. He has to jump out of the capsule just right so that he does not begin to flip over or spin while falling. If Baumgartner were to begin to flip, there would be no atmosphere or wind to stop him from flipping and as a result, he could pass out. If he were to pass out, he would have to rely on an automatic emergency parachute to deploy and save his life. One Baumgartner enters earth’s atmosphere, he will begin to slow to his terminal velocity of about 120 mph. Then, after a five-minute free fall, he will deploy his parachute and land on in New Mexico.

            The mission was supposed to launch on Tuesday, October 9, but was delayed due to weather conditions. Though tings may change, the launch is anticipated to be Sunday, October 14.

            If Baumgartner succeeds, he will be the first human to travel the speed of sound without being in some sort of vehicle, and will topple the previous record for highest sky dive by about two miles.

            Hopefully all goes well and Baumgartner is able to accomplish a task most people would think impossible.

 An animation of what it will look like when Baumgartner takes the leap of faith.

Workers fill the massive balloon will helium during a test flight.

Photos courtesy of CNN.com