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http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2010/07/17/14745156.html
Oh, man, I just watched a documentary earlier about the guy who strapped a pair of wings and a jet engine on and flew across the Channel. But this guy is nuttier.
There is so little air at that height that Baumgartner — one of the world's most capable skydivers — will have almost no initial control over his descent and will be plummeting in a gravity-induced free fall that is expected to reach the speed of sound — about 1,110 km/h at that altitude — within 30 seconds.
No human being has ever survived falling through the sound barrier so no one knows if Baumgartner will even be alive then, or what forces will affect his body and his fall when he does hit that turbulent barrier.
At that point, Baumgartner — or his dead body — will still be free falling about 24 km above the earth with another five minutes of free fall still to go.
The air will gradually become thicker, the Red Bull Stratos team says, and Baumgartner's speed of descent will decrease and he'll gain more control over his body's plummet. However, the team also warns that if Baumgartner has gone into an uncontrolled spin at a higher altitude, the spin will be accelerated and the skydiver will not be able to control his descent.
Oh, man, I just watched a documentary earlier about the guy who strapped a pair of wings and a jet engine on and flew across the Channel. But this guy is nuttier.
