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Bleeding Edge

by Michael Ho

Mon, May 14th 2012 5:00pm




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Filed Under:
altitude, parachute, skydiving, sound barrier, space, world record

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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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  •  
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    fb39ca4 (profile), May 14th, 2012 @ 5:26pm

    Seems safe.

     

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    •  
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      Michael Ho (profile), May 14th, 2012 @ 6:01pm

      Re:

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

       

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      •  
        identicon
        Anonymous Coward, May 14th, 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.

         

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        •  
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          Leigh Beadon (profile), May 14th, 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.

           

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          •  
            identicon
            Anonymous Coward, May 15th, 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.

             

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      •  
        identicon
        Pixelation, May 14th, 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.

         

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        •  
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          Mike Masnick (profile), May 15th, 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...

           

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          •  
            identicon
            Anonymous Coward, May 15th, 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.

             

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  •  
    identicon
    abc gum, May 14th, 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.

     

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    Anonymous Coward, May 15th, 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.

     

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