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If you’re planning to jump out of a plane at 120,000 feet and break the sound barrier, you need a really fancy suit.
Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner has been working with a company that makes space suits for astronauts in an effort to pull off a record-setting jump with the Red Bull Stratos project that he hopes will also lead to safer flight suits for future astronauts.
Baumgartner, the Red Bull star who has done everything from crossing the English Channel during free fall using a carbon fiber wing, to BASE jumping off the tallest buildings in the world, is planning to ascend to the stratosphere in a pressurized capsule carried by a massive helium balloon. Once reaching 120,000 feet, the plan is to depressurize the capsule, open the door and step off.
The current record for a skydive was set way back in 1960 when U.S. Air Force Colonel (Retired) Joseph Kittinger jumped from 102,600 feet. In addition to breaking that record, Baumgartner (like Kittinger did) is working with several scientists to research new, safer suit designs for pilots and future space travelers. The hope is to develop the next generation of full pressure suits that would help increase survival if the need to bail out of a spacecraft should ever arise at extremely high altitudes.
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Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner has been working with a company that makes space suits for astronauts in an effort to pull off a record-setting jump with the Red Bull Stratos project that he hopes will also lead to safer flight suits for future astronauts.
Baumgartner, the Red Bull star who has done everything from crossing the English Channel during free fall using a carbon fiber wing, to BASE jumping off the tallest buildings in the world, is planning to ascend to the stratosphere in a pressurized capsule carried by a massive helium balloon. Once reaching 120,000 feet, the plan is to depressurize the capsule, open the door and step off.
The current record for a skydive was set way back in 1960 when U.S. Air Force Colonel (Retired) Joseph Kittinger jumped from 102,600 feet. In addition to breaking that record, Baumgartner (like Kittinger did) is working with several scientists to research new, safer suit designs for pilots and future space travelers. The hope is to develop the next generation of full pressure suits that would help increase survival if the need to bail out of a spacecraft should ever arise at extremely high altitudes.
Skydiver Aims to Jump From 120,000 Feet, Break the Sound Barrier
If you’re planning to jump out of a plane at 120,000 feet and break the sound barrier, you need a really fancy suit. Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner has been working with a company that makes space suits for astronauts in an effort to pull off a record-setting jump with the Red Bull Stratos...
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