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High Dive (Sky Diving from 60 MILES UP!)
Popular Science ^
| 7/1/07
| "Speed Weed"
Posted on 07/01/2007 9:12:20 AM PDT by FormerACLUmember
Sixty miles up, you sit in a chair on the open deck of a small rocket, admiring the stars above, the Earth far, far below. The vacuum beyond your visor is cold, but it would boil your blood if your pressure suit failed. You give your parachute straps a reassuring pat. It’s utterly silent. Just you and your fragile body, hovering alone above the Earth. “Space Diver One, you are go,” crackles a voice in your ear, and you undo your harness and stand up. There’s nothing for it now: You paid a lot of money for this.
You breathe deeply and leap, somersaulting into the void. The mother planet is gorgeous from up here. You barely perceive that it’s rushing up toward you, and your body relaxes. You streak into the atmosphere at 2,500 miles an hour, faster than anyone’s ever gone without a vehicle.
(note) this is a five screen article. Click on the bottom to read all 5 pages.
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: burnedtoacrisp; extreme; hardcore; insanity; sport
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To: monkapotamus
41
posted on
07/01/2007 12:54:03 PM PDT
by
SevenofNine
("We are Freepers, all your media belong to us, resistence is futile")
To: FormerACLUmember
what a rush ..... you can be sure some army guy will be thinking ... how can I use this combat?
42
posted on
07/01/2007 1:00:10 PM PDT
by
Centurion2000
(Killing all of your enemies without mercy is the only sure way of sleeping soundly at night.)
To: FormerACLUmember
Starship Troopers drop capsules come to real life.
43
posted on
07/01/2007 1:02:17 PM PDT
by
Centurion2000
(Killing all of your enemies without mercy is the only sure way of sleeping soundly at night.)
To: FormerACLUmember
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!
Regards,
GtG
44
posted on
07/01/2007 3:00:52 PM PDT
by
Gandalf_The_Gray
(I live in my own little world, I like it 'cuz they know me here.)
To: Centurion2000; FormerACLUmember
Starship Troopers drop capsules come to real life. You know this guy has gotta be smiling.
45
posted on
07/01/2007 3:16:39 PM PDT
by
Professional Engineer
(The 4th of July is just a day on the calender. Independence Day is something to celebrate!)
To: denydenydeny
Imagine the kinetic energy of an adult human falling 60 miles: The landing would be a significant explosion, same principle as the so-called Rods from God. Not so, the terminal velocity of a free fall is about 120 MPH. The question is could you survive the aerodynamic heating as you fell into the denser atmosphere. The "Rods of God" depend on minimal cross section to allow them to maintain their speed in the thicker air.
Regards,
GtG
46
posted on
07/01/2007 5:43:30 PM PDT
by
Gandalf_The_Gray
(I live in my own little world, I like it 'cuz they know me here.)
To: Gandalf_The_Gray
TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!
47
posted on
07/01/2007 5:59:07 PM PDT
by
FormerACLUmember
(The ideal tyranny is that which is ignorantly self-administered by its victims.)
To: All
48
posted on
07/01/2007 7:13:28 PM PDT
by
finnman69
(May Paris Hilton’s plane crash into Britney Spears house while Lindsey Lohan is over doing coke)
To: FormerACLUmember
I do some contract writing and am looking at this from a fresh perspective.
Hmmm.... You are rich enough to do stupid stuff and die. I am rich enough to provide the mechanism and stupid enough to let you.
Fourteen million pages to follow.
49
posted on
07/01/2007 7:34:36 PM PDT
by
Eaker
(Free The Texas 3 - Ramos, Compean and Hernandez)
To: humblegunner
50
posted on
07/01/2007 7:35:13 PM PDT
by
Eaker
(Free The Texas 3 - Ramos, Compean and Hernandez)
To: finnman69
The first SCI-FI I recall seeing something like this was Hyperion by Dan Simmons in 1989.
51
posted on
07/01/2007 7:36:17 PM PDT
by
American_Centurion
(No, I don't trust the government to automatically do the right thing.)
To: monkapotamus
You owe me a new keyboard, dude.
52
posted on
07/01/2007 8:35:45 PM PDT
by
fieldmarshaldj
(~~~Jihad Fever -- Catch It !~~~ (Backup tag: "Live Fred or Die"))
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