Skydiver Plans Supersonic Jump from Edge of Space

[davidmash]

I don't care who you are or what you offer me. I am not, I repeat not jumping out of anything at 120,000 feet. OK, if the aircraft is on fire and we ae all going to die but that's different.

That's a long way down

[Fulcrum525]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Excelsior

[compress ignite]

(I don't think Emperor Murdoch allowed the films of "Columbia" or "Challenger" to
be viewed by the residents of "Oz".)

In any Case...
That is one BRAVE human !

[cmac2012]

Sounds like a serious rush but I'm thinking chit can go wrong. I understand that the human body will accelerate to around 120 mph in the atmospheric density that exists at normal skydiver altitudes and stay at about that speed owing to air resistance. Hitting that air at Mach 1 speed could be a bit like landing in the sea after jumping off the Golden Gate bridge.

They mention that a pilot once survived ejection at Mach 2 or 3 so who knows.

Some of that stuff is pretty cool though. 60 Minutes had a good piece on guys wearing wingsuits (different than the guy in the OP but in the same ballpark) jumping from some amazing cliffs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzYwdOufP00

[MTI]

Will anyone be able to hear him yell "Geronimo!"?

[davidmash]

Originally Posted by cmac2012

Sounds like a serious rush but I'm thinking chit can go wrong. I understand that the human body will accelerate to around 120 mph in the atmospheric density that exists at normal skydiver altitudes and stay at about that speed owing to air resistance. Hitting that air at Mach 1 speed could be a bit like landing in the sea after jumping off the Golden Gate bridge.

They mention that a pilot once survived ejection at Mach 2 or 3 so who knows.

Some of that stuff is pretty cool though. 60 Minutes had a good piece on guys wearing wingsuits (different than the guy in the OP but in the same ballpark) jumping from some amazing cliffs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzYwdOufP00

I thought I read somewhere that entering the atmosphere is a gradual thing, not like a layer of nothing and then WHAM!!!! My concern (nott hat you will see me doing this) would be the friction. The Shuttle needs tiles to shield it from the heat.

[Hatterasguy]

Well if it fails he will have quite a long time to think about how its going to end...in a really big SPLAT.

Human body + speed of sound = splat like a bug on your windsheild when it hits the earth.

[engatwork]

It will be a gradual thing. It is going to get hot though.

[cmac2012]

Originally Posted by davidmash

I thought I read somewhere that entering the atmosphere is a gradual thing, not like a layer of nothing and then WHAM!!!! My concern (nott hat you will see me doing this) would be the friction. The Shuttle needs tiles to shield it from the heat.

Ya beat me to it. I was thinking that later. The first air molecules you encounter are going to be pretty thin. I mean we know the air is thinner the higher you go. But at some point, acceleration will cease and deceleration begin, until maybe 150 mph, I'm guessing, with the setup he has. But with the right protective gear, shouldn't be a problem.

The real danger with that is like what happened to the crew of the Columbia. They hit the atmosphere doing something like 18,000 mph, and were already in it somewhat. This fellow won't have that problem.

[davidmash]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Well if it fails he will have quite a long time to think about how its going to end...in a really big SPLAT.

Human body + speed of sound = splat like a bug on your windsheild when it hits the earth.

He won't go splat. The guy who did this in 1960 jumped from 102,000 feet. He survived fine and I would think that technology has advanced since then. The new record will only be another 20,000 feet. Not a big del over 102,000 is it? Besides I would think it would be more of a thud than a splat but what do I know.