Showing posts with label Joe Kittinger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Kittinger. Show all posts

Friday, April 23, 2010

The Red Bull Stratos Suit unveiled

The Red Bull Stratos science team has unveiled the first space suit ever to be produced by David Clark Company for a non-governmental space program. The team has also revealed the pressure helmet, which with the suit will serve as Felix Baumgartners sole life-support system when he steps off his capsule at 120,000 feet to attempt a record-breaking freefall from the edge of space.

The suit was manufactured by Massachusetts-based David Clark company, which has pioneered air and space crew protective equipment since 1941, including launch entry suits for Space Shuttle astronauts and the iconic suit that United States Air Force Colonel (Ret.) Joe Kittinger wore on his historic Excelsior III jump in 1960.

Kittinger set three world records that still stand: the highest parachute jump 102,800 ft, the longest parachute drogue fall 4 minutes and 36 seconds and the fastest speed by a human through the atmosphere 614 mph.




Friday, January 22, 2010

Man to Break Sound Barrier Jumping from Edge of Space


Remember that scene from the latest Star Trek when Kirk & Sulu jump from space onto that futuristic drill platform? One of the seriously cool scenes in the movie. Well it seems the idea is still alive in Felix Baumgartner who has it on his mind to jump from the edge of space in an effort to break the sound barrier, and do it while in free fall. The last person to make a jump of this magnitude was United States Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger. Kittinger jumped on August 16, 1960, from an altitude of 19 and a half miles. Baumgartner will make his record breaking attempt sometime in 2010 as part of Red Bull's Stratus mission from a height of apx 20 miles!

Click here for a link to a short film on the jump.

Gizmodo article