9 Oct 2012

Skydiver’s ‘speed of sound’ fall aborted due to bad weather

An Austrian skydiver was in a capsule ready for his ascent to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere, when the operation was cancelled due to windy weather conditions.

Felix Baumgarter (Redbull Stratos)

Felix Baumgarter is hoping to make it in to the record books by performing the longest and fastest freefall in history, and by becoming the first skydiver to break the speed of sound.

Initially set for launch yesterday, weather conditions prevented the mission from going ahead and after Mr Baumgarter had prepared his breathing, got into the suit and entered the capsule balloon, the jump team again postponed the operation due to weather conditions.

“Whoa, gusty winds are taking that balloon down now,” said the Red Bull announcer from Roswell, New Mexico on a live broadcast. “That’s going to be a problem. There’s the decision. Abort the attempt… They had the window for a short while. But the winds are a huge concern.”

The 43-year-old was already in his capsule, prepared for the three-hour ascent to a height of 120,000 ft. When the ascent eventually happens, he will be travelling in a 55-storey stratospheric balloon filled with helium.

The Red Bull Stratos team, which has organised the death-defying feat, is hoping information from the jump can be used to advance scientific discoveries in the field of aerospace (see box, below).

If successful, Mr Baumgarter will break three records set by United States Air Force Colonel Joseph Kittinger in 1960. Colonel Kittinger jumped from 102,800 ft.

Mr Baumgarter is expected to reach a speed of 690 miles per hour in the jump, meaning the fall will take a matter of minutes.

He has completed two test jumps, one from 97,145 feet and one from 71,615 feet. The jumps took three minutes and 48 seconds and three minutes 40 seconds respectively.

The fall will be filmed by 30 cameras in the capsule, from a helicopter and on the ground and Red Bull, the jump’s sponsor, will stream the footage live.

Scientific aims of the jump

To aid development of a new generation of space suits to lead toward passenger/crew exits from space.

To aid development of protocols for exposure to high altitude/high acceleration.

To aid exploration of the effects on the human body of supersonic acceleration and deceleration, including development of the latest innovations in parachute systems.

Deadly stunt

Mr Baumgarter will be exposing himself to a number of dangers with the jump, not least that it is unknown what happens to the human body at the speeds he is hoping to reach.Among the risks are that any contact with his capsule on his exit could tear his pressure suit, exposing him to a lack of oxygen and temperatures as low as 70 degrees below zero.

It could also potentially cause lethal bubbles to form in his bodily fluids, a condition known as ‘boiling blood’. Mr Baumgarter is wearing a full pressure space suit which can protect from temperatures of more than 100 degrees down to 90 degrees. It maintains pressure within the suit to prevent the liquid’s in the occupant’s tissues turning to gas and dangerously expanding – a condition known as ebullism (see technology details, below).

Because of the dangers involved in the jump, there will be a 20 second delay on the footage being showed on the internet, in case of a fatality.

Information (Redbull Stratos)