Jumping from high altitudes usually isn’t anything to talk about.  Sky divers jump out of airplanes on a daily basis, base jumpers dive from cliff sides regularly.  Extremists occasionally even hurdle themselves from the worlds tallest buildings.  Felix Baumgartner has done all three, setting various records and accomplishing amazing feats.  Back in July of 2003, he was the first person to free-fall across the English Channel.  He also made a point of lunging from Taipei 101 in 2007 when it was the tallest building in the world.

These aren’t terribly difficult events to accomplish, especially when taking into account the latest exploit Felix and sponsor Red Bull want to undertake.  Which is to jump out of a pressurized chamber lifted by a 450-foot helium filled balloon to an altitude of 120,000 feet or more.  That’s a height of 22.7 miles, which is the minimum distance they want the balloon to achieve.  Much higher and Felix will be falling a marathons distance to earth in about five and a half minutes.  This is akin to the space jump performed by Kirk in the latest Star Trek movie and will bring actual space jumpers closer to reality.  The greatest jump ever accomplished happened back in 1960 when Joseph Kittinger (retired Air Force Colonel) performed a similar dive at an altitude of 102,800 ft.  A previous jump almost killed him when he blacked out and went into a flat spin for 60,000 feet.

The first custom astronaut suit. Photo courtesy NY Times, Garth Milen

There are many dangers of jumping at such extreme heights, but the number one unknown is what will happen to Felix’s body when he crosses the sound barrier after falling the first 20,000 feet.  Humans break said barrier often, but always within the craft that is hurtling them at such high speeds.  No one has ever done it without the protection of some sort of vehicle, so when Felix hits supersonic, science fails in knowing what happens next.  A human has never gone supersonic on their own, so we have no idea what sort of affect it will have on the soft and hard tissues of the body.  Will his limbs maintain transonic after other parts have gone supersonic?  How would that affect his blood flow, will his arms break due to the changes, what sort of turbulence will that cause Felix to experience and how likely will that cause him to enter a fatal flat spin?  Exactly what will happen is a complete mystery.

Other than that big unknown, precautions are being taken to make sure Baumgartner will survive his death defying fall.  This isn’t just a glorified record breaker, at the heights he will be jumping from, Red Bull has had to put together a team of scientists, engineers and consultants to build the most advanced jump suit ever.  It has to be pressurized and oxygenated, reinforced and with extended flexibility to allow optimal free-fall position.  It’s also being built by the David Clark Company, a business that has been protecting pilots since before the sound barrier was broken.

If things go as planned, this jump will provide invaluable data for anyone else planning to exit their vehicle at stratospheric altitudes.  Not many people currently have that worry, but even NASA is paying attention to this private venture for insights into something the government never had the audacity to attempt.  The private space/high atmosphere industry may not be burgeoning at the moment, but this is just another impetus allowing the private sector to thrive where governments fear to tread.

Another jumper, Michael Fournier, is also attempting this same feat but has thus far been unsuccessful.