http://espn.go.com/action/story/_/id/8504226/felix-baumgartner-sets-records-24-mile-high-freefall Watched it live this morning. very cool.
Yes it was. Washington Post just noted he hit 823 mph 1.24 mach in the freefall. That makes him the first person to break the speed of sound without a plane. BTW this is the anniversary (55th I think) of the day Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound in the Bell X-1. Pretty cool!
Actually, that's not right. Joe Kittinger, in setting the record Baumgartner broke today, broke the sound barrier on his jump in 1960. I've interviewed Kittinger a couple of times; he's an exceptionally cool old dude.
Thanks for the info. All the news outlets are touting the SOS breaking as a first. BTW were any of your interviews published? I rememer reading about Kittinger's jump in the Nat Geo I think and was always fascinated by it.
Honestly, I don't know what the Baumgartner jump taught us that we don't already know. Kittinger's jump in 1960 gave the air force vital info about man's ability to survive in the upper atmosphere, and to withstand the immense g forces associated with space flight.
False, potatoes can't jump, and certainly not while in a sack I thought that was pretty damn amazing. I missed the original reporting of this, so thanks for posting, silverst. Leaping out of a balloon from the periphery of the atmosphere takes a lot of balls, but must of been so freakin' amazing and exhilarating. Wow!
The most fascinating thing I read about this was the fact that before he jumped he NEVER looked down. That suit musta been pretty roomy to also contain that dude's nads as well.
I still think this could have been accomplished by anyone and is about as difficult as falling off a log.
