Felix Baumgartner moments before attempting his record breaking leap
(Courtesy of Extreme Tech)
Imagine staring down from the heavens and seeing that it could just be moments away. We can only speculate what’s going through the mind of Felix Baumgartner before his death-defying leap. Red Bull created this mission to “Advance scientific discoveries in aerospace for the benefit of mankind.” By doing so, Baumgartner and Red Bull broke three major world records; height reached in a balloon, highest skydive, and being the first person to travel faster than the speed of sound without a vehicle. Furthermore, years of planning went into this event as some of the most brilliant minds on the planet collaborated to examine the scientific principles involved. Special suits, shuttles, and balloons were to designed to account for the extremities to be encountered.
Felix Baumgartner mid-flight
(Courtesy of Engadget)
“I wanna go fast,” is a quote uttered by almost every child, however Felix Baumgartner got to live this dream as he became the first person to break the sound barrier in free fall. The speed of sound is 1,255 km/h and Baumgartner’s top speed was 1,342 km/h. To put this in perspective, the majority of jets used in the army don’t reach this speed.
Capsule used in the space jump
(Courtesy of Wired)
Nevertheless, breaking the speed of sound is a great accomplishment, but the pressure that high in the atmosphere may have been the biggest threat to Baumgartner’s life. The atmosphere is broken down into multiple layers where the pressure decreases as you go higher. Not only that, the temperature also decreases decreases dramatically with height. Baumgartner was protected from changes in pressure and temperature by his specially designed suit and capsule. The suit and capsule were acclimatized to not allow a change in pressure. If the air pressure in space was equal to the pressure in the suit, all of the liquids in Baumgartner’s body would turn to gas killing him instantly.
A comparison of the balloon used vs the Statue of Liberty
(Courtesy of Geeky-Gadgets)
Now, how is it possible to get a balloon over 120,000 feet in the air? Well, it actually works the same way as when you release a balloon and it flies into the air. However, being 55 stories long, this helium balloon is much larger than anything you can buy at the dollar store. Helium is able to rise in the air because of a principle called density. As a rule, denser objects fall and less dense objects rise. Since helium is much less dense than the surrounding air it rises. The amount of helium was specifically chosen as that amount will cause the capsule to float around 120, 000 feet.
Below is a video of the event
With all of this new information the only question is, what’s left. With humans constantly pushing change and technological advancement, there is no limit to what people can accomplish. This story should also serve as an inspiration to others as nothing is impossible.
Written by Arman Gill
