As we sluggishly restarted our semester after the holiday break that came and went too fast, many of us tuned in as a man fell out of space. On Sunday, October 14th, 2012, Felix Baumgartner, a 43-year-old Austrian pilot, took a daredevil dive out of a space capsule hanging 24 miles above Earth. The footage is the ultimate inspiration for extreme-sports fans, and, more importantly, an incredible breakthrough in physics and technology.
A 55-story helium balloon hoisted Baumgartner, in a small, pressurized capsule, into the stratosphere. Two-and-a-half hours later, Baumgartner was literally sitting on the edge of the world, at his target altitude of about 128,100 feet. The capsule’s hatch opened, and the world breathlessly watched as Baumgartner stepped out onto the ledge. With a brief salute, fearless Felix solemnly stated, “I’m coming home”, and plummeted towards earth.
The moments were tense as millions watched the live spectacle, a glowing white dot plunging towards earth. Baumgartner’s descent took nine minutes, the first half being a free fall of 119,846 feet. During this time his speed reached 833.9 mph, surpassing the speed of sound at 768 mph, and making him the world’s first supersonic skydiver.
With an average skydiver rarely exceeding 200 mph, the question is: how did Baumgartner fall so fast? Rebecca Thompson, a physicist of the American Physical Society, explained that because the air density is so much lower in the stratosphere than in the lower atmosphere, the air molecules are incredibly dispersed, creating less resistance at the start of Baumgartner’s decent. “That means you’re going to go a heck of a lot faster,” Thompson stated. Michael Weissman, a physics professor at the University of Illinois, emphasized that the air density increased exponentially as he fell, the “ resistance increases… the net force on him is thus upward, slowing the rate of his fall.” When Baumgartner reached the lower atmosphere, his speed had slowed to that of a normal skydiver.
Besides going supersonic, Baumgartner broke two other records, including highest jump and highest free-fall. But the bold stuntman said he didn’t only go on the mission to break a record. He also did it to help NASA design stronger spacesuits for space explorers in the future. The air density and supersonic factor generated much danger and risk, including potential brain and cardiovascular damage and a risk of ebullism, a condition that could cause the liquid in one’s body to turn to gas. Baumgartner’s life depended on the efficiency of his pressurized flight suit. The temperature when he jumped was expected to hit 70 degrees below zero Fahrenheit or lower. The atmosphere was so thin that his lungs would have burst if he were not sufficiently protected. While his outfit weighed over 100 pounds and limited his mobility, it had sensors and recorders that measured everything from his velocity to his heart rate. The data collected during those 9 minutes is expected to break new ground in space research.
Baumgartner’s jump wasn’t only an incredible physical feat, shattering pre-existing records, but an event that raised interest in the technology and media industries as well. More than 8 million people watched the episode via live-stream on YouTube. It was YouTube’s biggest live-streamed event to date.
Although the feat broke many records, in the moments after Baumgartner miraculously landed on his feet in the New Mexico desert, he exclaimed, “Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are. When you stand there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about breaking records anymore. You do not think about getting scientific data.” Roger that, Felix, roger that.