Quote: (10-14-2012 02:49 PM)Timoteo Wrote:
Quote: (10-14-2012 02:43 PM)_GQ_ Wrote:
He pulled the parachute too soon!
Kittinger, being the only other man on Earth that knew what Baumgartner was experiencing, was the one communicating with him throughout the mission, running him through his pre-jump checklist, giving him encouragement, and talking to him on the way down. Maybe he told him to pull a bit early to preserve at least ONE of his records...HA HA!
Boards of Canada made a pretty cool video using the Kittinger footage. The music blends with it so well.
I was reading an interview with Kittinger once about his high altitude jump as that had been a first time anyone had done any such thing. He had quite some interesting thoughts and observations. What was really interesting is that he says when you jump out at that altitude, you have no point of reference as to how far or fast you're falling. Since the atmosphere is almost non-existent, you don't hear any rushing of the wind, nor does the fabric on your suit ripple as there's no air-resistence to move it. He said for a few minutes you freak out wondering if you're literally stuck up there in space. He said only when he looked up and saw the balloon racing away at high speed into the blackness of the sky did he get the sense that he was actually moving. Within a few minutes he then felt relieved as he started hearing the rush of moving air as the atmosphere thickened at lower altitudes.
He also noticed how it changes your perspective of things making that jump. You realize that humans exist in a very thin slice of the planet that is habitable for life. Once you leave this tiny bubble, it is a very hostile universe out there.
Hats off to the few men that have had the privilege of experiencing this.
Quote:Quote:
"I am at 103,000 feet, looking out over a very beautiful, beautiful world. As you look up, it is a hostile sky. As I sit here and wait, I have realized that man will never conquer space. We will learn to live with it, but we will never conquer it. I can see for over 400 miles. Beneath me I can see the clouds... looking through my mirror, the sky is absolutely black. Devoid of anything. I can see the beautiful blue of the sky and above that it goes into a deep, deep, dark, indescribable blue which no artist could ever capture. It's fantastic." — Joseph Kittinger, Radio communication, August 16, 1960
He staggered to the edge of the gondola — due to the decrease in gravity at that height, he actually weighed three pounds less than he had on the ground — and positioned himself with the toes of his boots protruding slightly beyond the edge of the floor piece, then took a deep breath of pure oxygen and held it. A sign printed at the base of the door, inches below his toes, read "HIGHEST STEP IN THE WORLD". He turned and pushed the button that activated all twelve cameras simultaneously; even inside his helmet he could plainly hear the clicking whir of all the tiny motors. Then he tried to grasp the familiar lanyard with his swollen, ice-cold right hand, exposed as it was to the vacuum of space from the glove malfunction, and realized immediately that there was no way he could grip the lanyard, much less pull it. He let it drop. He would have to trust his weight to pull it and arm the timing knob on the harness as he fell. Kittinger fell forward as he had done on the two previous flights, but it was different this time. This time he was convinced he was going to die. He was out. He was floating. It was like before: no rush of wind, no sensation of falling, no perception of movement at all. He hung suspended in this calm universe. His pulse was 156 beats per minute and he had not taken a breath since leaving the gondola — not even his own respiration intruded on the astonishing emptiness. It was all impossibly beautiful.