I love that people do this.
Bummed that the drop was scrubbed.
In order for him to be considered for a speed record, doesn't he have to repeat the run within an hour in the opposite direction? That's the one I want to see.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
I don't think it's supposed to be a speed run as much as it's supposed to be breaking the sound barrier with a human.
And this would be the second time as most media outlets forget, even though Joe Kittinger is working on this.
So you can take a balloon into space? WTF was all of that space race crap in the 60's then? Why did we pour billions into Atlas Rockets when the solution was down at the local papermart?
pinchvalve wrote: So you can take a balloon into space? WTF was all of that space race crap in the 60's then? Why did we pour billions into Atlas Rockets when the solution was down at the local papermart?
You can take them up to the edge of space, so the Russians could have used one for Gagarin's flight and the US could have used one for Alan Shepard's flight, but that's about it.
And helium is expensive and absolutely finite, once released it floats into space and never comes back
The balloon is ultra thin and light, and they give it just enough helium to pull the pod into the stratosphere. It looks funny at the ground because its this huge balloon with just a little bit of helium in it. At jump height it will be the largest balloon (not blimp) in history (I think because I'm not able to find actual information that supports this).
pinchvalve wrote: So you can take a balloon into space? WTF was all of that space race crap in the 60's then? Why did we pour billions into Atlas Rockets when the solution was down at the local papermart?
Can't mount a nuclear weapon on those balloons and get them where you want them with any precision would be my guess!
SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: In reply to Keith Tanner: I don't think it's supposed to be a speed run as much as it's supposed to be breaking the sound barrier with a human.
I find that disappointing. I really wanted to see that backup run. Bungee cord or rocket pack?
Bump- apparently, they are going to jump this morning- both Discovery and Velocity are covering it. Winds are down, and the ballon is being filled right now.
HLN just mentioned that Joe Kittinger is going to be talking to Felix both on the way up and on the way down. I think it's classy when a former record-holder is there to support the guy trying to push his envelope a little further. It's the opposite of those A-holes from the '76 Dolphins who get together and have a party every time the last undefeated NFL team loses.
And Baumgartner's jump will in no way minimize what Kittinger did, either. I'm sure every centimeter of Felix's fall has been painstakingly computer modeled and theorized 10,000 different ways. When Joe went up in 1960 they probably yelled from the ground "Oh, by the way, you're going to have to jump" right about the time they were letting the balloon go.
jg
In reply to JG Pasterjak:
Joe is the ONLY one talking to Felix. Sort of like when only astronauts talk to astronauts. The coverage shows them both all the time.
alfadriver wrote: In reply to JG Pasterjak: Joe is the ONLY one talking to Felix. Sort of like when only astronauts talk to astronauts. The coverage shows them both all the time.
Yeah. Finally got the feed working. That's cool. I guess Joe's probably the most qualified to tell Felix to do with his brontosaurus-sized balls on the way down.
jg
ProDarwin wrote: Is there a way to stream this from a PS3? I'm having a hell of time finding a way
Not sure, but if you have cable, HLN is cutting in quite frequently. CNN and Fox both have their Sunday morning shows on and haven't been going to coverage at all yet.
jg
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