The Red Bull Stratos Project is truly fascinating. At some point this year (specific time & date TBA), Felix Baumgartner will ride a helium balloon up to an altitude of 120,000 feet, at which point he will step off the ledge and perform the most amazing feat skydiving has ever witnessed. Felix will shatter a number of skydiving records including: top speed of dive, altitude of jump, and longest freefall, amongst many others. To get a grip of just how insane this is, here are the highlights of Felix’s jump:
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- In just 35 seconds, Felix will break the sound barrier (690 mph). By contrast, typical skydives never break 120 mph.
- Felix will free fall for an unworldly 5:35
- 120,000 feet is 23 miles! That’s 4x the altitude of commercial airliners
- Felix will break the highest altitude flown in a manned balloon by 7,000 feet, just for a kicker
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This is just awesome. And talk about the marketing budget RedBull must have! This will have been a 3 year project when all’s said and done. The team consists of up to 20 of the most highly skilled (and highly compensated) scientists and engineers in America. This guy is also doing a ridiculous number for research. Never before has such an impressive fall been attempted, so it’s unknown how the human body will react to such a feat. Felix is doing a serious service for science, as the data recorded from the flight will be publicly made shortly after the dive. Check out the website to see/hear/and read more.
Posted by jdnnhs 
