Supersonic Skydiving 58
Almost six years ago, we talked about the story of Michel Fournier, a retired French army officer who planned to skydive from a height of 25 miles. That plan and a subsequent attempt one year later both failed due to "technical and weather-related problems." Now, at the age of 64, Fournier is set to try again. If everything goes right, his speed will approach 1,000 miles per hour during the early stages of his 15-minute descent. Quoting the NYTimes:
"Fournier faces plenty of perils. Above 40,000 feet, there is not enough oxygen to breathe in the frigid air. He could experience a fatal embolism. And 12 miles up, should his protective systems fail, his blood could begin to boil because of the air pressure, said Henri Marotte, a professor of physiology at the University of Paris and a member of Fournier's team. 'If the human body were exposed at very high altitude, the loss of consciousness is very fast, in five seconds,' Marotte said. 'Brain damage, in three or four minutes.'"
Yet another thing... (Score:2, Informative)
I for one think that it is an interesting idea if they can reliably pull it off.
Good Luck, Old News (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Good Luck, Old News (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Yet another thing... (Score:1, Informative)
Looks like fun ! You first...
Re:Bruno Gouvy... (Score:3, Informative)
It's all about air friction and terminal velocity: a normal falling body reaches about 200km/h at normal pressure. Drop a heavy and profiled 'bullet' and there's no real limit to the speed it can reach.