astraboy

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...=Joe+Kittinger
People go skydiving all the time, but for the simple act of stepping off that platform when theres **** all apart from clouds for the next 30kilometeres is beyond comprehension.
Hard-fuking-core
astraboy.

Edcase

well technically he wasn't actually on the planet

7 Foot

Sod & that leap to mind.

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

So much for terminal velocity - skydiving over mach1 without knowing the risks - **** me

*Sonic*

Hats off to him, I have read about him previously, but never seen a video of him doing it !!

Where did he land, was it where he planned, or another country !!

I would imagine that high you could cover considerable horizontal distance (although he didnt have a bird suit )

Chris L

Now that is impressive - and yet the bloke is virtually unknown

Edcase

It's a terrible feeling, I live with it every night when I lay in bed trying to sleep...

Chris L

TopBanana

Boards of Canada used this footage in the video for Dayvan Cowboy:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...=dayvan+cowboy

Tune's not too shabby either

Steve Whitehorn

iTrader: (13)

Respect

JackClark

Someone's doing it again. I'd love a go.

brybusa

Amazing...long way down to think about what you've done in life if the chute didnt open!

Was he the guy that fired himself along those rocket sledges to test the affect of G forces on the body?

ricardo

No, that was John Stapp, who lived to the ripe old age of 89 in spite of some rather hair-raising rocket sled experiments: http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries...249030,00.html (0-632 mph in less than 5 sec, then 632-0 in 1.4 sec !) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stapp

David Lock

So why didn't he burn up with friction when he hit the thicker atmosphere?

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

I'd say it was Tony Blair for ******** that moose he's with on more than one occasion!

ricardo

He wasn't going fast enough. The burn-up happens when an object is going many thousands of miles an hour and has to be slowed dramatically by the air resistance. In his case he reached high speeds where the air was very thin, but as the air gradually increased in density he slowed to a more 'normal' free-fall velicity.

Leslie

He was not going fast enough.

What a brave man, bet it was a hell of an experience too.

Les

DCI Gene Hunt

That's not brave! ........... No chute, that's brave

ricardo

Talking of bravery, in the rocket sled case on the first test run (with ballast) it came off the rails. Later test runs used humans. Would you take the ride ? (Volunteer) Is it fixed now ? (Engineer) Yep, we think we know why it went off the rails, should be fine this time... In Stapp's case it went off the rails again AFTER his record-breaking run. Likewise, Vladimir Komarov went up in a Russian Soyuz capsule knowing full well that the systems had all sorts of problems. He died when the parachute didn't open.