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blacksword404 -> Space diver' to attempt first supersonic freefall (1/25/2010 12:10:54 AM)
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It's about the craziest thing I have heard of in a while. Why doesn't it surprise me that Red Bull is involved? I wonder how many of you would attempt it once they explain the whole "oozing fluid from your eyes and mouth" thing. [:D]
He will face extreme peril. He should reach supersonic speeds 35 seconds after he jumps, and the resulting shock wave "is a big concern", the project's technical director, Art Thompson, said at a press briefing on Friday. "In early aircraft development, they thought it was a wall they couldn't pass without breaking apart. In our case, the vehicle is flesh and blood, and he'll be exposed to some extreme forces."
Still, project medical director Jonathan Clark noted there has been one known instance of a pilot surviving the destruction of a plane at three times the speed of sound. "We know it's not just theoretically possible, it's possible," he said.
After falling for about six minutes, Baumgartner should open his parachute at roughly 1520 metres.
The jump height is above a threshold at 19,000 metres called the Armstrong line, where the atmospheric pressure is so low that fluids start to boil. "If he opens up his face mask or the suit, all the gases in your body go out of suspension, so you literally turn into a giant fizzy, oozing fluid from your eyes and mouth, like something out of a horror film," Thompson explained. "It's just seconds until death." The link has a whole lot more on it.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18427-space-diver-to-attempt-first-supersonic-freefall.html
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