Registered: Jul 2000
Location: zanzibar
Posts: 10477

wonderaz, I have a question..

Is it possible to fly a hot air balloon to the 'edge of space'? Must be like one of those weird ones they try to fly around the world.

I think this guy will explode when he passes the speed of sound, but hopefully his camera survives.

Maybe the Asylum can try to break his record, wonder can fly a little higher.. who's jumping??

Outer Space Skydive Planned
The Associated Press
Sunday, March 4, 2001; 9:24 a.m. EST

SYDNEY, Australia –– A former Australian army commando plans to jump off the edge of outer space and plummet almost 25 miles to Earth in the highest skydive ever.

Rodd Millner, 37, will make the 40,000-meter jump by riding in a hot air balloon to the edge of space, the Australian Associated Press reported Sunday. He will wear an astronaut's suit to protect his body from extreme pressures, it said.

The plan calls for Millner to fall at up to 1,100 mph during a seven-minute fall before opening a parachute. The fall would make Millner the first human to break the sound barrier unaided, the report said.

"It's basically extreme science to see how far we can push it – this is going to change the face of a lot of things ... including emergency procedures for people exploring space," he was quoted as saying by AAP.

Millner claims that scientists have helped him on the project, but it is not known if the human body is capable of enduring such a descent.

The jump may be a relaxing change for Millner, who teaches explosives and mine warfare to Australian army recruits.

Millner hopes to turn his plunge into a virtual computer game using film from cameras that will be fitted to his suit and the balloon.

Project Space Jump will be launched from Alice Springs in March 2002.



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choosy mothers choose evil

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: A New England
Posts: 9187

'edge of space' is a misnomer.

43k metre is certainly theoretically possible.

34k is the previous highest anyone has tried though.

{edit: Checked my facts]

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A closed mouth gathers no feet.

[This message has been edited by Goatboy (edited 03-04-2001).]

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Texas
Posts: 2593

So, Wonderaz....This has probably been asked/answered before, but what does it take to get a ride in your balloon?

Do you charge by the person, or group, or do you just work for a specific corporation?

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Registered: Jan 2001
Location: library
Posts: 19584

LEt's go fly with wonderaz together Em!

-m


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In Vino Veritas

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Texas
Posts: 2593

quote:

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Originally posted by Mordecai:
LEt's go fly with wonderaz together Em!

-m

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That WOULD be fun, wouldn't it? Actually, I was thinking about a certain private celebration up high in the sky with IBeFree..... Just pondering at this point.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Beatrice, Nebraska
Posts: 18808

I think it'd be morbidly hilarious if his parachute didn't open. Not only the first man to break the sound barrier unaided, but the first man to make a crater in the ground, unaided.

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Have a good day, and if you feel like subjecting your genitals to high doses of x-ray radiation I'm sure the world will kindly thank you.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Nanaimo, BC
Posts: 1122

You'd have to be either very brave or very stupid to pull of that stunt.

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"Hello there sir, would you like a date?" "PROSTITUTE! I am an officer of the law!!! Which means THE ANSWER IS YES!

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Beatrice, Nebraska
Posts: 18808

quote:

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Originally posted by Hedonism:
You'd have to be either very brave or very stupid to pull of that stunt.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Sedona, Arizona
Posts: 19111

quote:

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Originally posted by Emerald:
So, Wonderaz....This has probably been asked/answered before, but what does it take to get a ride in your balloon?

Do you charge by the person, or group, or do you just work for a specific corporation?

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Location Location
Posts: 26415

Jesus.

Why do people do such things?

Isn't there like no oxygen up there?

So you figure his suit will be pretty fucking heavy.

And the parachute.

This guy's gonna blow up or something.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Canton, Illinois
Posts: 923

I've always wanted to go on a hot air balloon ride, but then again I'm sort of agrophobic, so that wouldn't be good.

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Kick ass, whitey!
hehe, dicklips.
Snot rockets!

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Dumbfucksville!
Posts: 12164

I fly balloons too!!!
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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Sedona, Arizona
Posts: 19111

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Paint CHiPs:
Jesus.
Uh, wrong thread, Paint. Try the God thread.
Why do people do such things?
For some, the new theme park by Disneyland just didn't cut it.
Isn't there like no oxygen up there?
Falling at that spped? hell, he only needs to hold his breath for a minute, geeez
So you figure his suit will be pretty fucking heavy.
Which would negate frantic flapping, I would imagine.
And the parachute.
True, but should be at the bottom of the list of things to discard in order to lighten the load
This guy's gonna blow up or something.
Probably the 'or something, but Hey! It's all fun, sparky!



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Don't argue with me.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: A New England
Posts: 9187

You guys do know this has already been done at ~80k feet, right?

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Sedona, Arizona
Posts: 19111

80K feet... Hah! A walk in the park.
40K meter is... ummm... (carry the 2...) a bunch higher.

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Don't argue with me.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: A New England
Posts: 9187

Once your above 76k feet the difference is negligible.

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A closed mouth gathers no feet.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Sedona, Arizona
Posts: 19111

quote:

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Originally posted by Goatboy:
Once your above 76k feet the difference is negligible.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: A New England
Posts: 9187

As far as I'm concerned the result of impact from anything over 110ft is the same. The only thing to change is the area which has to be cleaned up.

I don't doubt the fear involved, my respect though goes to the guys who did this in the 60's when we knew so much less. Pioneers are always that much more interesting than the ones who follow in their footsteps.



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A closed mouth gathers no feet.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: A New England
Posts: 9187

As far as I can tell this is no different than Kittinger's attempt.

Kittinger already broke the sound barrier unaided (714mph). The additional 30k ft of this jump just means an increase in speed from the rarer atmosphere.

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A closed mouth gathers no feet.

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1600

i'm afraid of heights.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Sedona, Arizona
Posts: 19111

To your question, yes, manned balloons have gone that high already. They are obviously nothing like what I fly as the are enclosed capsules and are almost ten times the displacement, usually over a million cubic feet.
The highest an open gondola balloon has flown was around 60,000 feet (that I know of).

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Don't argue with me.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Sedona, Arizona
Posts: 19111

I tell my nervous passengers that. Interesting how some people are OK at 500 feet off the ground but start getting the shakes at 1,000 feet.
"anything happens over 60 feet and the outcome is invariably the same". Go figure.
I understand what you are saying Goatboy but I still have a ton of respect for the ones doing it now also. That is some extreme shit.


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Don't argue with me.

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Registered: Jul 2000
Location: A New England
Posts: 9187

As much as I always wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, there is not enough money on this Earth to get me up there doing something like that.

I know some guys who are of the same ilk as these people, absolutly no fear in them at all. They are scary people.

It's hard to keep up the fantasy that you could do this crazy stuff too when you meet people like that.

I think I'll keep my safe little life, scrabbling in the dirt while these folk push back the frontiers of human achievement.

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A closed mouth gathers no feet.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: All East Coast : USA
Posts: 2450

quote:

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Originally posted by Goatboy:
As much as I always wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, there is not enough money on this Earth to get me up there doing something like that.

I know some guys who are of the same ilk as these people, absolutly no fear in them at all. They are scary people.

It's hard to keep up the fantasy that you could do this crazy stuff too when you meet people like that.

I think I'll keep my safe little life, scrabbling in the dirt while these folk push back the frontiers of human achievement.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: 54.60°N 5.70°W
Posts: 1950

Hm. Lots of conflicting information out there. I thought that was generally accepted that Kittinger came close to breaking the sound barrier, but fell just short of it? Wasn't the 714mph figure inaccurate?

Interesting bunch of facts & figures here.

It says that Kittinger jumped from 31,330m (102,800 feet) and reached a velocity of 274m/s (614 mph), which was about 9/10 the (local) speed of sound. Some other reports are 'unreliable'.

It also shows a calculation which seems to prove that in order to break the sound barrier (in theory), one would need an extra 1,300m on top of Kittinger's jump. This nutcase who wants to jump from 40,000m would se