Australian skydiver Felix Baumgartner will attempt to break the record for the highest ever jump by leaping from a helium balloon from over 23 miles above sea level.
Felix’ record setting space skydiving attempt may also be the first time a jumper breaks the sound barrier during his free fall and lives to tell the story.
This video shows footage of the original 1960 skydiving record set by Joe Kittinger (which still stands today) together with footage of Felix Baumgartner’s preparations for breaking it. Joe set the record for the highest jump ever at 20 miles together with the longest and the fastest free fall.
The next video explains the technical challenges behind making the suit able to withstand the pressures of space skydiving.
In the good old days we’d call one an optimist if he’d say: “The sky is the limit.”
Well, not anymore!
It turns out that yesterday’s optimists are today’s pessimists for any limit can be eventually overcome by the relentless human spirit to go faster, further, higher and deeper, backed up with a good measure of advanced science and technology.
It is for this reason that Ray Kurzweil claims that humanity’s major characteristic feature is its desire and ability to transcend its limitations.
Have a safe and soft landing Felix!
Related articles by Zemanta
- Skydiver To Break Sound Barrier During Free-Fall (news.slashdot.org)
- Skydiver Aims to Jump from 120,000 Feet, Break the Sound Barrier (wired.com)
- Dare-devil skydiver seeks record (news.bbc.co.uk)
- Chasing the sound barrier, in a leap from 23 miles up (bendbulletin.com)
- Skydiver to break records with space dive (telegraph.co.uk)
- Skydiver preparing for 120,000-foot supersonic fall (cnn.com)
- Reaching for the Stars (circusblog.ca)
