Felix Baumgartner prepares to break sound barrier without machine

William Atkins
Sunday, 24 January 2010 21:34

Science - Space

In 2010, Austrian daredevil skydiver ‘Fearless’ Felix Baumgartern will attempt to break the record for the fastest speed of a human falling through Earth’s atmosphere, the highest ever parachute jump, and the first human to exceed the speed of sound without the use of a machine.


Baumgartner's up-and-coming 2010 jump will start at an altitude of at least 120,000 feet (36,580 meters), about 36.6 kilometers, or 22.7 miles.

Currently, the record for highest parachute jump was made by U.S. military pilot Joseph “Joe” William Kittinger II on August 16, 1960—at a height of 102,800 feet (31,330 meters), or about 31.2 kilometers, or 19.5 miles.

Kittinger fell for 4 minutes, 36 seconds, while reaching a maximum speed of 614 miles per hour (988 kilometers per hour)—not quite the speed of sound.

During this dive toward Earth over North America, in which he will be free-falling for about five minutes, Baumgartner will break the speed of sound without being inside of any type of human-made craft.

He will start his trip as he ascends into the Earth’s stratosphere in a pressurized capsule attached beneath a 140-meter (450-foot) high helium balloon.

After exiting the capsule, Baumgartner will break the speed of sound a little over 30 seconds into its quick descent toward Earth.

The speed of sound is the speed at which sound waves travel through an elastic medium, such as air.

At a temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius), the speed of sound is approximately 343 meters per second (1,124 feet per second)—or about 1,236 kilometers per hour (768 miles per hour).

This equates to traveling about one mile in five seconds.

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