The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Skydiving adventurer shatters sound barrier
EXTREMEA THLETE Felix Baumgartner has landed on Earth after a jump from the stratosphere in what could be the world’s first supersonic skydive.
Baumgartner, from A ustria, landed in eastern New Mexico desert minutes after jumping from more than 128,000ft — or 23 miles.
He took off in a pressurised capsule carried by a 55-storey ultra-thin helium balloon. He jumped from more than three times the height of the average cruising altitude for jetliners.
Video cameras relayed the moment Baumgartner (43) stepped from his balloon capsule to begin his fall to Earth.
Only the last few thousand feet were negotiated by parachute. Once down, he fell to his knees and raised his fists in triumph. Helicopter recovery teams were on hand moments later.
Unofficially, the A ustrian jumped from 128,097ft (24.2 miles; 39km). He fell for four minutes and 19 seconds, reaching a speed of 706mph (1,137km/h).
The figures will change slightly once the chest pack information has been properly assessed.
There was concern early in the dive that he was in trouble.
Baumgartner was supposed to get himself into a delta position — head down, arms back — as soon as possible after leaving his capsule, but the video showed him tumbling over and over.
Eventually, however, he was able to use his great experience, from more than 2,500 career skydives, to correct his fall and get into a stable configuration.
Even before this drama, it was thought the mission might have to be aborted. A s he went through last-minute checks inside the capsule, it was found that a heater for his visor was not working. This meant the visor fogged up as he exhaled.
“This is very serious, Joe,” he told retired US A ir Force Col Joe Kittinger, whose records he was attempting to break, and who was acting as his radio link in mission control at Roswell airport.
The previous highest, farthest, and longest freefall was made by Col Kittinger, who leapt from a helium envelope in 1960.
His altitude was 102,800ft (31.3km). His mark for the longest freefall remains intact. He fell for more than four and a half minutes before deploying his chute.
Col Kittinger, now an octogenarian, has been an integral part of Baumgartner’s team, and has provided the A ustrian with advice and encouragement whenever he has doubted his ability to complete such a daring venture.
A t an altitude of 120,000ft (36.5km), the air pressure is less than 2% of what it is at sea level, and it is impossible to breathe without an oxygen supply.
Others who have tried to break the records for the highest, fastest and longest freefalls have lost their lives in the process.
Baumgartner’s team built him a special pressurised capsule to protect him on the way up, and for his descent he wore a next generation, full pressure suit made by the same company that prepares the flight suits of astronauts.
A lthough the jump had the appearance of another Baumgartner stunt, his team stressed its high scientific relevance.
The researchers on the Red Bull Stratos project say it has already provided valuable data for developing high-performance, high-altitude parachute systems, and the lessons learned will inform the development of new ideas for emergency evacuation from vehicles, such as spacecraft, passing through the stratosphere.
Nasa and its spacecraft manufacturers have asked to be kept informed.
Jon Clark is the medical director on the team. The former shuttle flight surgeon lost his wife in the Columbia accident in 2003.
He said Baumgartner’s experience could help save the lives of future astronauts who get into trouble.