Today, at about 8:30 am EST, Felix Baumgartner will ride in a capsule, lifted by a helium balloon that is taller than the Statue of Liberty, to about 120,000ft (22.73 miles.) Then he's going to jump out, from the edge of space, and attempt to break the sound barrier in freefall.
his balloon will rise between 1,000 to 1,400 meters/min, slowing to around 750 feet/min around 100,000 feet above sea level. (sounds like a deflating birthday balloon darting around a room.)
opening chutes at those speeds seems like when we were kids trying to slow our fall with an umbrella or bed sheet (from a tree or roof.)
i hope he does it. sonic boom
live broadcast and countdown on the Red Bull youtube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/user/redbull/stratos
Joe Kittinger holds the current record jump at 102,108 ft. There are plenty of videos on youtube of that. here's one without music and a voiceover interview:
http://youtu.be/xE71aKXjss0
(LIVE) Jumping from the Edge of Space (120K FT)
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