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Space Science

Supersonic Skydive Attempt Delayed 24 Hours 68

First time accepted submitter poofmeisterp writes "Felix Baumgarner's planned record jump from 120,000 feet has been delayed due to 'bad wind.' Humor aside, it's good that careful thought is going into this potentially record-setting public act. From the article: 'The Austrian - who described himself as "like a tiger in a cage waiting to get out" - was due to leap from his Red Bull Stratos space capsule today at a planned altitude of 36,576m (120,000ft) over the New Mexico desert. However, the weather has forced a 24-hour launch delay. In July, Baumgartner jumped from an altitude of 29,455m (96,640ft), hitting 586.92km/h (364.69mph) during the free fall part of his drop.'"
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Supersonic Skydive Attempt Delayed 24 Hours

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  • by kevmeister ( 979231 ) on Monday October 08, 2012 @11:26PM (#41593145) Homepage

    You might be surprised to learn that NASA has already been there and done that.

    Back in the early '60s, one of the designs for emergency astronaut return from a space "vehicle" was to leave the capsule, climb into a plastic bag over their space suit, fill it with ablative foam, and fire a small, rocket to de-orbit. The re-entry would be in a physical position that would produce a "butt down" re-entry and a chest-mounted parachute would deploy automatically.

    The system was developed by GE and called "MOOSE" for Man Out Of Space Easiest. Some testing was done by GE, but NASA decided that they were not interested.

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