Mission to the edge of space

[silent67]

Why is that?

 

Though don't matter cause I ain't jumping from any of it...:rotf:

 

Because it was just about all an unknown then. No one had ever done it before and technology was no where near what it is today. Just like the original astronauts, how many

times did they watch the rockets blow up on the launch pad or just after liftoff and still they were battling it out to get on those things. That's why.

[Guest scarylarry]

I under the challenge bit....Heights is hard for me....That is why I said not me..

 

Glad he did it and glad he broke the record now his needs to be beat if possible

[CaptainJoe]

Because it was just about all an unknown then. No one had ever done it before and technology was no where near what it is today. Just like the original astronauts, how many

times did they watch the rockets blow up on the launch pad or just after liftoff and still they were battling it out to get on those things. That's why.

 

All depends on how you look at it....

 

When Joe went, he probably didn't know for fact certain that his blood could literally boil, or, that he could black out, and be unable to pull his parachute....

As they say ignorance is bliss.... a nicer way of saying that: " what you don't know can't hurt you..."

 

With all the information available today, I'm sure Felix was very familiar with the concequences.

 

I thinking they BOTH have Big Balls!

and,

Bragging Rights...

Edited October 17, 2012 by CaptainJoe

[Trader]

I wonder if falling from that height was any different speed wise.

If I remember my physics correctly, you reach a maximum falling speed right?

 

Is terminal velocity the same further away from the gravity of the earth?

Would air density make a difference?

 

Did he jump from the maximum height the balloon could reach? If not....why not?

 

His launch capsule looked a lot more complicated than I would think was neccessary.

 

He was in a space suit....all he needed was a lawn chair and a radio:whistling:

[twigg]

I wonder if falling from that height was any different speed wise.

If I remember my physics correctly, you reach a maximum falling speed right?

 

Is terminal velocity the same further away from the gravity of the earth?

Would air density make a difference?

 

Did he jump from the maximum height the balloon could reach? If not....why not?

 

His launch capsule looked a lot more complicated than I would think was neccessary.

 

He was in a space suit....all he needed was a lawn chair and a radio:whistling:

 

The biggest factor in terminal velocity is air resistance. A human body will generally reach maybe 120 mph, then fall no faster.

 

At 24 miles up there is no air, so he would accelerate at 32m per second squared, until he was slowed by the thicker atmosphere. Hence he reached about 700 mph before quickly slowing down. There would be no sonic boom because there is no atmosphere.

 

Yes, he was very close to the maximum. The balloon can only rise while there is something to push against. When he reached 128 000 feet the air pressure was 0.003 Atmospheres. He couldn't have gone much further un-powered.

 

I imagine he is pleased that his team designed and built that capsule and made it as complex as necessary, and as simple as possible. Left up to us it would have been a dustbin and seafoam.

 

Yeah ... He was in a space suit because to all intents and purposes he was in space Without the pressure suit he would have died as soon as he depressurized the cabin.

 

It was an awesome undertaking.

[Trader]

Because it was just about all an unknown then. No one had ever done it before and technology was no where near what it is today. Just like the original astronauts, how many

times did they watch the rockets blow up on the launch pad or just after liftoff and still they were battling it out to get on those things. That's why.

 

 

I remember reading an interview with one of the original Apollo astronauts.

He said that NASA was money concious....and how it was a little un-nerving thinking that he was sitting on top of a rocket so many feet long containing the explosive power of so many atomic bombs, designed to reach a speed of so many thousand miles an hour controlled by huge amounts of computers and electronics....the failure of any of which could lead to catastrophic failure and death.

 

AND IT WAS ALL BUILT BY THE LOWEST BIDDER!!!!!!