DailyDirt: I'm Free... Free-Falling

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

There's been a bit of a resurgence in interest for manned spaceflight because the costs of launching vehicles to the edge of space aren't ludicrous anymore, just outrageously expensive. Despite the advances in rocket launching systems, there's always a chance that something could go wrong -- so ejecting escape pods at high altitudes seems like a good idea, right? Only a handful of people have even attempted to skydive from more than a few miles up. By the end of this year, though, a couple brave souls could set some skydiving records and pave the way for a new extreme sport. By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.
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Filed Under: altitude, parachute, skydiving, sound barrier, space, world record
Companies: red bull


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  1. icon
    fb39ca4 (profile), 14 May 2012 @ 5:26pm

    Seems safe.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. icon
    Michael Ho (profile), 14 May 2012 @ 6:01pm

    Re:

    It's really only the landing part that's tricky.. the rest is easy.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2012 @ 6:19pm

    Re: Re:

    People always say that half in jest, but I suspect it's the cracking the sound barrier that may prove a problem. Not to mention going up to an altitude of 23-25 miles in just a suit. Oxygen is such a handy thing to have around.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    abc gum, 14 May 2012 @ 6:42pm

    Flash Gordon would jump from his spaceship in orbit around the planet Mongo without the benefit of oxygen tanks or parachute - he simply used his super awesome cape! He undertook great risks in order to thwart the evil schemes of the Emperor Ming the Merciless. Boy - those were the days ... when the rocket engine exhaust fumes would rise like cigarette smoke from a Lucky Strike and the guide wire oscillations made the rocket ship look as if it were piloted by a drunkard.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. icon
    Leigh Beadon (profile), 14 May 2012 @ 6:58pm

    Re: Re: Re:

    Oh I suspect there's all sorts of nasty stuff you have to deal with on the way down. If you fall through a cloud you get buffeted by hail and wind and crazy stuff - and if it's a big cloud it can last for a /long/ time. IIRC only one person has ever fallen through the length of a cumulo-nimbus cloud and lived to tell the tale.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Pixelation, 14 May 2012 @ 10:54pm

    Re: Re:

    "It's really only the landing part that's tricky"

    The secret to flying...fall at the ground ... and miss.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. icon
    Mike Masnick (profile), 15 May 2012 @ 12:28am

    Re: Re: Re:

    The secret to flying...fall at the ground ... and miss.


    Oh great. Now the Douglas Adams estate is going to send us a C&D...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2012 @ 7:12am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    I read quite some time ago the story about the Marine pilot who bailed out of his F-8 Crusader when his engine self-destructed. I cannot even begin to imagine a 40 minute descent, ascent, descent, ascent, etc. in the middle of a severe thunderstorm.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2012 @ 7:44am

    Re: Re: Re: Re:

    "Oh great. Now the Douglas Adams estate is going to send us a C&D..."

    If they do, tell them to go practice flying.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2012 @ 8:48am

    Noone in the USA needs to worry about testing this sort of thing since Obama has effectively ensured we have no space industry anymore.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    abc gum, 16 May 2012 @ 4:35am

    Re:

    Ignorance is bliss - amirite?

    link to this | view in thread ]


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