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Skydiver Breaks Sound Barrier After Taking Plunge 24 Miles Above The Earth's Surface
This morning professional daredevil Felix Baumgartner is on his way to breaking a world record and scaring the living bejeezus out of us. He will attempt a jump from 23 miles above the Earth's surface. At some point during his descent, he'll become the first skydiver to break the sound barrier.
Baumgartner took off this morning in a pressurized capsule carried by a 55-story, ultra-thin helium balloon—kind of like a high-tech dry-cleaning bag—that is large enough to fill the Los Angeles Coliseum. By the time Baumgartner gets to his target height above an airfield in Roswell, he will be at the edge of space: an incredibly chilly, near-vacuum with very little oxygen, according to the Associated Press.
Baumgartner will be jumping in a pressurized suit but needless to say, a lot could go wrong. If he tears his suit on the capsule, he could be exposed to elements, which could cause potentially lethal bubbles to form in his blood. The fall will last 5-and-a-half minutes.
The New York Times has a profile of the team of 300 people, including engineers, scientists and physicians, that has been working for five years on technology to make the jump called Red Bull Stratos possible (we hope!).
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Dr. Jonathan Clark, Red Bull Stratos medical director, told the Times:
"We’re testing new spacesuits, escape concepts and treatment protocols for pressure loss at extreme altitudes. There are so many things that could go wrong here that we’re pushing the technical envelope."
Baumgartner's attempt is happening on the 65th anniversary of Chuck Yeager's successful attempt to break the sound barrier aboard an airplane.Here's video of Baumgartner's stunt:
UPDATE 11:18 am : Baumgartner has safely landed. He's broken the world record for the highest manned balloon-flight and the highest jump. Initial measurements from mission control also indicate that he's the first skydiver to break the sound barrier. It was a 4-minute 22 second freefall, which does not break the world record for the longest elapsed jump.
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