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Felix Baumgartner Unveils Mission to the Edge of Space (video)
Live PR ^ | January 20, 2010 | Staff

Posted on 01/23/2010 6:55:38 AM PST by yoe

Pilot Felix Baumgartner will announce today at 9 a.m. EST his intention to expand the boundaries of aerospace exploration by attempting to become the first person ever to break the speed of sound with the human body. Baumgartner hopes to ascend in a capsule lifted by a helium balloon to the upper reaches of the stratosphere to at least 120,000 feet and, protected by a full-pressure “space suit,” launch a freefall jump that could exceed Mach 1.0 – more than 690 miles per hour – before parachuting to Earth. If successful, the Red Bull Stratos mission hopes to establish four world records; the data captured by the mission’s world-leading scientists could promise new standards in aerospace safety and enhanced possibilities for human flight.

United States Air Force Colonel (Ret.) Joseph Kittinger, who in 1960 launched a stratospheric jump from 102,800 feet that opened the door for space exploration, and whose records Baumgartner aims to break, introduced the Austrian pilot to media from around the world during a briefing in New York City.

“People have been trying to break my records for fifty years, and many have died in the attempt,” Kittinger said. “But I believe that with our unique assets, an extraordinary mission team, the dedication of Red Bull, and Felix Baumgartner’s outstanding skills, Red Bull Stratos will succeed.”

Kittinger, Baumgartner (best known for being the first person to fly across the English Channel with a carbon wing in 2003), Red Bull Stratos Medical Director Dr. Jonathan Clark and Technical Project Director Art Thompson provided an overview of the mission, which will we will expect to launch in North America with a target launch date in 2010.

“This is truly a step into the unknown. No one can accurately predict how the human body will react in the transition to supersonic speeds,” said Baumgartner. “But we’ve got to find out. Future aerospace programs need a way for pilots and astronauts to bail out at high altitude in case of emergency.”

Clark, who served as a crew surgeon for six Space Shuttle missions, confirmed that data captured from the mission will be shared with the scientific community, and noted that he expects long-awaited medical protocols to be established as a result. He also commented, “I think one of the most profound benefits of Red Bull Stratos is going to be the inspiration for our youth… The kind of stuff Felix is doing is like the early astronauts and cosmonauts.”

Red Bull Stratos has secured specialized technical communications from Riedel Communications that will facilitate the coverage of the Red Bull Stratos mission with a live TV broadcast and live webcast delivered by Microsoft Silverlight. In parallel the mission will also be streamed on mobile platforms through a mobile application powered by Ovi by Nokia. Global broadcaster, the BBC, will produce a special 90-minute documentary, which will air exclusively in the US on the National Geographic Channel and be distributed globally to national broadcasters by BBC Worldwide.

(The Red Bull Stratos trailer)


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: exciting; felixbaumgartner; innovation; notbreakingnews; spacediving; spacejump
On the edge of history which spells Freedom and Liberty..........
1 posted on 01/23/2010 6:55:40 AM PST by yoe
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To: yoe
Skydiver Felix Baumgartner seeks to break sound barrier

Daredevil Space Diver To Leap Toward World's First Supersonic Free-Fall From 120,000 Feet

2 posted on 01/23/2010 7:05:41 AM PST by A.A. Cunningham (Barry Soetoro is a Kenyan communist)
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To: yoe

I’ve met Joe Kiitinger. He’s an Orlando resident (or was). He is quite a character.


3 posted on 01/23/2010 7:10:21 AM PST by Republican Extremist
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To: yoe

This is silly. The reason given is scientific... to study the effects of supersonic flight on the human body. Right. Ever heard of a wind tunnel?This is a dare devil stunt, nothing more.


4 posted on 01/23/2010 7:11:31 AM PST by pgyanke (You have no "rights" that require an involuntary burden on another person. Period. - MrB)
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To: pgyanke

You are correct.


5 posted on 01/23/2010 7:13:50 AM PST by blam
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To: yoe

The bigger accomplishment will be if he can avoid bumping into failbama’s ego, on the way down. I don’t think even the edge of space is large enough to contain it.


6 posted on 01/23/2010 7:16:01 AM PST by WhatNot (Christ longs to see the lovely face of His pure bride, and He will not be disappointed!)
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To: yoe

So Red Bull really does give you wings ?


7 posted on 01/23/2010 7:17:25 AM PST by fieldmarshaldj (~"This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps !"~~)
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To: pgyanke
This is a dare devil stunt, nothing more.

It doesn't need to be anything more. It's impressive as it is.

8 posted on 01/23/2010 7:19:11 AM PST by Glenn (iamtheresistance.org)
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To: pgyanke

We already know pretty much everything he’ll “learn”.

It would be a lot more impressive if he were to jump from orbit and make a controlled descent at slower speeds.


9 posted on 01/23/2010 7:19:40 AM PST by cripplecreek (Seniors, the new shovel ready project under socialized medicine.)
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To: yoe

This may be the thing that changes the old adage ‘it’s not the fall that kills you’


10 posted on 01/23/2010 7:22:15 AM PST by mnehring
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To: pgyanke

To me it’s more about what you learn on the ground preparing for it. It takes a lot of brainstorming when the possibility of death is involved. That knowledge may translate down the road. Doing just confirms you got it right (hopefully).


11 posted on 01/23/2010 7:24:22 AM PST by Mountain Dewd
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To: yoe

Cool video!


12 posted on 01/23/2010 7:28:58 AM PST by 6SJ7 (atlasShruggedInd = TRUE)
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To: Glenn
It doesn't need to be anything more. It's impressive as it is.

Agreed, don't care what it is, its still AWESOME.

13 posted on 01/23/2010 7:36:45 AM PST by Paradox (ObamaCare = Logan's Run ; There is no Sanctuary!)
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To: pgyanke
This is a dare devil stunt, nothing more.

Could be. So were Lindberg's flights, the moon landings etc. I'm reminded of some of the staff from JPL dissing man in space as a waste of money and not science. All that being said, who cares. There's plenty of reasons to do something besides science and sometimes in the process a little bit of science might also be revealed.

14 posted on 01/23/2010 7:37:12 AM PST by rhombus (i)
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is there a “splatting news” section on FR?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2435396/posts


15 posted on 01/23/2010 7:45:30 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Happy New Year! Freedom is Priceless.)
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To: yoe
Isn't the speed of sound in a vacuum equal to zero? I mean, fundamentally, the speed of sound is the speed at which information can be communicated from one disturbed air particle to the next in a mean free path. In a vacuum the distance between one air particle and the next along the mean free path (infinity) is definitely bigger than the wavelength of any sound.

So an astronaut walking at any non zero speed across the surface of the moon has already traveled faster than the speed of sound with "just the human body".

16 posted on 01/23/2010 7:58:43 AM PST by avg_freeper (Gunga galunga. Gunga, gunga galunga)
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To: yoe

Help me out here.

If he is falling from that altitude at that speed, wouldn’t he burn up?

Just askin’


17 posted on 01/23/2010 8:02:28 AM PST by left that other site (Your Mi'KMaq Paddy Whacky Bass Playing Biker Buddy)
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To: yoe

Cool. Heard about other people proposing to do this in the past but nothing came of it.


18 posted on 01/23/2010 8:05:17 AM PST by dr_who
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To: yoe

I wonder how easy though it would be to “bail out” of an ascending rocket if that is what Clark is suggesting.


19 posted on 01/23/2010 8:08:53 AM PST by dr_who
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To: yoe

Ping


20 posted on 01/23/2010 8:30:35 AM PST by irish guard
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