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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Skydiver Felix Baumgartner lands highest ever jump |
| 2012-10-14 |
| Interesting way to spend a Sunday... Austrian Felix Baumgartner has broken the record for the highest ever skydive by jumping out of a balloon 128,000ft (24 miles, 39km) above New Mexico. The 43-year-old was hoping also to break the sound barrier during his descent - although that mark awaits confirmation. Video cameras relayed the moment Baumgartner stepped from his balloon capsule to begin his fall to Earth. It took about 10 minutes for him to reach the desert surface below. Only the last few thousand feet were negotiated by parachute. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #14 Once they checked their data, max velocity was clocked at 833.9 MPH, Mach 1.24. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2012-10-14 21:06 |
| #13 "You didn't jump that. Somebody else made it happen" (BHO) |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2012-10-14 21:01 |
| #12 What Paul said. |
| Posted by: Barbara 2012-10-14 20:41 |
| #11 Apparently, the white-haired capcom was the AF captain who set the record in 1960? |
| Posted by: KBK 2012-10-14 20:41 |
| #10 I almost peed my pants watching this live. And I was sitting on the couch. I've skydived, when I was young and dumb. But this was just ... wow. |
| Posted by: Mizzou Mafia 2012-10-14 20:11 |
| #9 amen, AP |
| Posted by: Frank G 2012-10-14 19:43 |
| #8 The deal about this feat is that it was a TEAM EFFORT. You had designers, physiologists, meteorologists, a whole range of disciplines working to get Baumgartner to do a successful mission. This is NOT insh'allah engineering. This is what we in western civilization do best. We take risks, but we care about life, so we put as many safety factors in before we do the mission. Then we do the mission. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2012-10-14 19:37 |
| #7 Correction, Austrian Individualism. |
| Posted by: Vortigern Bluetooth5611 2012-10-14 19:30 |
| #6 American Individualism. |
| Posted by: Vortigern Bluetooth5611 2012-10-14 19:21 |
| #5 What's the big deal? Once you get to 128,000 ft it's all downhill. Nah, I'm kidding. This is totally cool! I was even getting giddy watching it. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2012-10-14 18:09 |
| #4 The full jump. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2012-10-14 16:04 |
| #3 A cool event. Well done by the red bull team. |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2012-10-14 15:54 |
| #2 I was especially impressed when the newsdorks kept referring to the jump as a "Mission." |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2012-10-14 15:42 |
| #1 The video's amazing. Says he hit 729 MPH. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2012-10-14 15:18 |