Monday, October 15, 2012

Felix Baumgartner's Supersonic Jump - Video Link Included


This image made from video provided by Red Bull Stratos shows pilot Felix Baumgartner of Austria as he jumps out of the capsule on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012. In a giant leap from more than 24 miles up, Baumgartner shattered the sound barrier Sunday while making the highest jump ever — a tumbling, death-defying plunge from a balloon to a safe landing in the New Mexico desert. (AP Photo/Red Bull Stratos)

17 comments:

Ian said...

AMAZING. When I watched him jump from the ship-capsle thingy yesterday (watching the video on the internet, of course) I was very impressed. It was stunning that someone could show that much bravery (and a little bit of insanity, it seems) and jump from that high up. I thought it was cool to see him jump off of the ship-capsle thing, and go from flipping in the air (he couldn't control how smoothly he fell because he was going too fast), to regaining control, activating the parachute, and then finally landing.

Corey said...

I think that it was amazing. The guy decided to destroy the world record for no reason. He traveled up in a space shuttle and then freefalled from the edge of space. I could not believe it. He set 3 records. I couldn't imagine falling through thin air at 700 mph. I wonder if he knew when to blow the paraschoot or how long he was falling for. It was also amazing because all the physical training he did made it seem that he was a astronaut. I imagined falling from space when he did it and I couldn't believe that. Awesome!

Grace C. said...

This was so cool! I think that it was kind of suspenseful even just reading the article. I think that this was because of all of the heights ad speeds. It was amazing that Felix was able to land this 24 mile high jump in New Mexico. I was in advisory yesterday and we watched a video of him jumping. He released the paraschoot at 4 minutes and 26 seconds. It was a thrilling moment. I loved this article.

Chloe said...

I think this is probably the most daring thing anyone could ever do! I think that going 700MPH in space is really scary and I'm surprised he didn't get a heartattack. He must've trained really hard for this to happen and he must've worked really hard for people to trust in him. His mom was crying at the end because she probably thought he wasn't gonna make it, but he did. I think that he is very brave to do this because he had a very big chance of dying. The way he went up was really cool too! I think that it is amazing that he knew when to pull the parachute out... I think this is amazing because if I was dropping from space at a VERY fast speed, the last thing I would think of is proabably a parachute... :/

Adam said...

I agree with Chloe because this is on many different levels dangerous. I was watching replays on T. V and when he started spinning i thought he was already dead from the wind coming against him. Jumping from the edge of space is very daring and braking the speed of sound is just unbelievable. My dad told me that from a norman skydive you are usually in free fall for 3 to 4 minutes but he was in free fall for 16 minutes before opening his parachute. The fact that he was at such a high altitude that he needed an oxygen mask and a astronaut suit is just electrifying. I did not understand what kind of parachute can stand a force of wind coming that fast at it. I also did not understand how you yourself could stand being hit by winds that are coming 700 mph at you. Overall this was a very dangerous, daring, shocking, and amazing accomplishment.

Anonymous said...

Matthew said...

I think that it is amazing that this guy survived that long of a free fall and those high speeds, and it is amazing that we have the ability to create a craft that can enable somebody to do that. On the other hand I think that the competition for the world record in skydiving is a competition of who can win the Darwin Award in the most crazy way, or just who can be the most stupid.

Elena said...

I think that it's interesting how his balloon was thinner than a plastic bag. I don't know how this would work. Would the thinner material be more aerodynamic and easier to move through the air, or would it be harder. Obviously it's safe enough because he got to the ground safely, but maybe if there was a different material used, his decent would take less then 4 minutes and 20 seconds.
I also can't imagine what it would be like to be falling for all that time. Even though it was only about 5 minutes, falling for all that time would seem like much longer.

Eva said...

Being someone who's not afraid of heights, even I wouldn't do that! Breaking the sound barrier is amazing, as it's mostly done with aircrafts and jets. The fact that he was in the air for four minutes terrifies me! The relation to one of those "falling dreams" is probably really accurate.
I respect Felix Baumgartner for being brave and breaking the record, and I think that discovering humans can break the sound barrier, just by themselves, is a major event and breakthrough.

Nicholas said...

That was pretty cool. I know that spaceships if going to fast can start to be consumed in a fireball, and if he would have been higher, I don't know how much higher, that might have happened. I did the math and he went 330 mph on average, and in the article it said his peak speed was about 880. That is really fast. I know you pick up steam, but it is still amazing how fast he went. On another topic, I think it is cool how they could make the technology to make this all possible. So that he would survive, and how they could capture is top mph rate. I think Felix Baumgartner should be a guy who is remembered for a very long time.

Alyssa said...

This was incredible! I had no idea that this was possible! I also did not know that man can break the speed of sound! It was a bit confusing. Why did Felix land in New Mexico? Was there a reason for him to land there? How did he know when to release his parachute after falling 700 mph? Who came up with all this money for the astronaut-like suit, shuttle, and parachute? I think this discovery is really cool because maybe one day, when the world develops more, ordinary people can do this.

Aiden said...

WOW!!! That's CRAZY!!! How did he stay conscious for 4 minutes and 19 seconds of free fall?? Jurassic Park at Universal Studios has a 85 foot drop and I thought that was scary!!! He fell from 24 miles above Earth at 834 miles per hour!! I don't know anyone who would have done that. How did the scientists design such a heat and debris-resistant suit? How is that humongous helium-filled balloon as thin as a plastic bag? Wouldn't that break really easily? Also, if the balloon is really lighter than air, how did it not float off into space or off to other continents above Earth?

Yu-Kai said...

I can't believe that a sane man would do something completely INsane. I mean, if you really think about it, jumping from 128,000 feet above the ground does not seem really that high, but if you put it in terms of miles, like 24 miles above the earth, it suddenly goes from "oh that's not that high" to "OMG THAT'S SO HIGH WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD DO THAT". You know what I mean? I can totally understand why he was sort of reluctant to jump out of his capsule. Being deathly afraid of heights, I would probably eject within the first minute of being airborne.
I can also sort of relate it back to when I was in Kindergarten. I was learning how to climb up a rock-climbing wall at school. I remember getting to the top, looking down, and saying to myself, "DON'T trip or else you will die." Looking back, I think that was kind of stupid (but understandable) that I was afraid of falling off a 5-foot tall rock-climbing wall. Imagine having to free-fall for over four minutes! That would be multiplying my fears of falling off the climbing wall by 100000000...yeah.

Miles said...

I agree with Matthew, I think it is amazing about how he could survive that long of a fall, and how much heat he had absorbed. I don't understand how someone could fall for about 4 minutes and 20 seconds. I am going to be honest, when I first saw this video the first thing that crossed my mind, was that this guy is not very smart. After watching the video, I realized that he was prepared and had many people watching him, and helping.

Yu-Kai said...

Also, Aiden, the balloon was designed thinner than a plastic bag so that it would actually float up easier. This is because the less material there is, the less mass there is.

Yu-Kai said...

I thought the guy would die, because he was going so fast! If I had to go that fast, I would put a blindfold over my eyes and black out my helmet visor with black paint. :)

Tessa said...

This is absolutely amazing. This man is truly a dare devil in the flesh. I watched a video of him doing the free fall and got chills up my spine. I honestly do not know how he did it. I agree with Ian that he showed A LOT of bravery by doing that free fall. He literally risked his life. I would without a doubt adore to learn about this fascinating man.

Cybella said...

If I was in his shoes I would have freaked out. What he did was truly amazing.
He decides to jump from miles above human civilization, and then when he does it he breaks the speed of sound.

That is just incredible. If I were him, I probably wouldn't make it back alive.
Some things that humans are capable of really blow your mind.