Here's a clip of the jump section. (We'll see if YouTube takes it down.)




Oh, and top speed = 833.9mph (or mach 1.24)!

Balls. Great big giant balls!!!!!! Fuckin' A.

Gump

Watched it via interrupted, laggy, bush Alaska internet with my son...still super cool...lag and all...

Sheesh, that guy is my age. You sure can go fast when you're being drug to the ground by giant stainless steel balls.

I just took a look at the Youtube vid in Matts post ^^ and the advertisement on the you tube screen was for a Cremation Planning service. Weird.

Emory Bored wrote:I just took a look at the Youtube vid in Matts post ^^ and the advertisement on the you tube screen was for a Cremation Planning service. Weird.

Being proactive for all the copy cats to follow. What else can you do with a garbage sack full of sand, sagebrush, silk, and bone fragments.

So.... Kittinger still holds the free fall record (duration/time, not height), or did I see that wrong? It appears that Fearless Felix opened the chute a few seconds before the free fall record would have been broke. If so (I'd watch it again but too slow of download speed) I wonder if that was planned? And how cool is that to see 84 year Joe there right in the Red Bull Mission Control (NASA had to laugh about that I'm sure), rooting for Felix!

Sat riveted for the entire thing, from launch to touch down. Watched the jump with my little kids. Something I, and hopefully they, will remember for a long time.

We are where we are today because of people willing to dream this big and take that last step into the unknown. Joe is an absolute hero, and Felix is a worthy successor.

Correct me if I'm wrong - but how can he break the sound barrier? Speed of sound is a function of density altitude (768mph at 20'C in dry air) - I kind of doubt he would have had a compression shock wave since he would break this speed in air much thinner air. I understand he could break 760MPH - and that's defined as mach 1 - but he still wouldn't be outrunning his screams at any point in the freefall.

'soyAnarchisto

soyAnarchisto wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong - but how can he break the sound barrier? Speed of sound is a function of density altitude (768mph at 20'C in dry air) - I kind of doubt he would have had a compression shock wave since he would break this speed in air much thinner air. I understand he could break 760MPH - and that's defined as mach 1 - but he still wouldn't be outrunning his screams at any point in the freefall.

'soyAnarchisto

<snip>

Extremely cool. Nice break from all of the bad news and politicking that rules the headlines these days.

soyAnarchisto wrote:Speed of sound is a function of density altitude (768mph at 20'C in dry air) - I kind of doubt he would have had a compression shock wave since he would break this speed in air much thinner air. I understand he could break 760MPH - and that's defined as mach 1
'soyAnarchisto

Mach number is actually a ratio of two speeds and is dimensionless, i.e. there is no MPH associated with Mach number. It is your airspeed compared to the speed of sound in the local fluid you are flying through. It is actually more related to the temperature of the local fluid you are in at the moment. Felix fell into colder air as he plummeted. His Mach number would increase even if his airspeed somehow stayed constant on the way down.

But, how cool was it to see Joe Kittinger helping a young guy break his own long standing record. He was like a proud father. He kept Felix focused a few times that I noticed a bit of cognitive lag, like when it came time to disconnect the O2 umbilicals, or insisting that Felix give him an acknowledgement on checklist items.

YB

RanchPilot wrote:We are where we are today because of people willing to dream this big and take that last step into the unknown.

Yup! That's right. Dream big, take a risk, pull it off and get the prize. Gets your heart beating a little faster. Eh?

Wow! Just watched that clip. Fantastic feat!

Saw the first half (recorded all -from Discovery Channel) and watched it later. Pretty exciting event with kudos to all involved.Video's from capsule was(is) outstanding !

Fisherman wrote:

RanchPilot wrote:We are where we are today because of people willing to dream this big and take that last step into the unknown.

Yup! That's right. Dream big, take a risk, pull it off and get the prize. Gets your heart beating a little faster. Eh?

And even if you don't pull it off and your heart ceases to beat no longer, it's a win win situation. You will be immortalized in the history books and maybe have a street named after you...or a mental affliction.

exodus wrote:

Fisherman wrote:

RanchPilot wrote:We are where we are today because of people willing to dream this big and take that last step into the unknown.

Yup! That's right. Dream big, take a risk, pull it off and get the prize. Gets your heart beating a little faster. Eh?

And even if you don't pull it off and your heart ceases to beat no longer, it's a win win situation. You will be immortalized in the history books and maybe have a street named after you...or a mental affliction.

Priceless....

EB

exodus wrote:

Fisherman wrote:

RanchPilot wrote:We are where we are today because of people willing to dream this big and take that last step into the unknown.

Yup! That's right. Dream big, take a risk, pull it off and get the prize. Gets your heart beating a little faster. Eh?

And even if you don't pull it off and your heart ceases to beat no longer, it's a win win situation. You will be immortalized in the history books and maybe have a street named after you...or a mental affliction.

I'd rather have the street than the mental affliction. LOL

I would have passed out for sure... in the phase where he began to rotate rapidly.
What a hell of a ride. You would think a French guy would have done it...not Austrian !!

LOL