skydives from 18 miles

[yoshi]

Roswell has always been a mecca of aliens. Hope he will be successful next time.

http://www.reuters.com/video/2012/07...eoId=236667391

yoshi

[Pol]

He's the sort of person who makes me feel I live such a simple life in the slow lane.

Pol

[TheBull1875]

A friend's brother taught HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) parachuting in the RAF. Not for me thanks!!

[patmoore]

Hard to believe the record has stood for over fifty years. I remember when Joe Kittinger set in 1960. Two years later I got into the sport and logged a little over 2000 jumps before hanging it up in 1976.

Back then I appeared in a couple of sky diving movies called "Masters of the Sky" and "The Endless Fall". This shot is from the latter.

[yoshi]

Does anybody know if he was successful in his next trial? I learned a week ago that he was to make another try on Oct. 8th or 9th and searched for the result but so far no news about him. Hope he made it.
yoshi

[patmoore]

On a "wind hold" at the moment. Too windy to launch the balloon. If necessary they'll reschedule for tomorrow.

[yoshi]

Originally Posted by patmoore

On a "wind hold" at the moment. Too windy to launch the balloon. If necessary they'll reschedule for tomorrow.

Oh, I see. Thanks for the info.
yoshi

[Ian]

Seeing how a space suite is not exactly aerodynamic I am wondering if this is a good idea - the physical stress on the suite at 690 miles per hour must be huge, although I guess at the altitude he is aiming for the air will be very thin.

Ian

[Pops]

Originally Posted by Ian

Seeing how a space suite is not exactly aerodynamic I am wondering if this is a good idea - the physical stress on the suite at 690 miles per hour must be huge, although I guess at the altitude he is aiming for the air will be very thin.

Ian

Just watched a short clip on Sky. The suit is built to withstand temps down to -63c and insulated to stop his blood boiling at 690 mph

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Pops

Just watched a short clip on Sky. The suit is built to withstand temps down to -63c and insulated to stop his blood boiling at 690 mph

I'm more concerned about the wind action pulling the suite to bits

But I am reassured that the maximum speed will be attained in very low atmospheric pressure.

Ian

[patmoore]

Originally Posted by Ian

I'm more concerned about the wind action pulling the suite to bits

But I am reassured that the maximum speed will be attained in very low atmospheric pressure.

Ian

That's right. The extreme speeds are possible because of the lack of resistance. I'm speculating that the biggest challenge will be to remain in a stable position. In a number of air shows my assignment was the "cutaway" where I'd jump wearing three chutes. A few seconds after deploying the first one I'd cutaway and go back into freefall. It was a lot different than exiting a moving plane or helicopter where I had immediate wind resistance. The first few seconds after the cutaway were hard to control.

Today's attempt was scrapped as the irreplaceable balloon was being buffeted by winds. They'll try again tomorrow.