yeah, i saw this about 6 years ago on one of the science shows. pretty intense ride.

That's amazing! I can't believe I haven't heard of this either.
Sure makes base jumping look stupid in comparison.

Dick Cheney's dork is so big, it graduated high school two years ahead of him.

It's so big, it's in the other room making Ace a drink!

It's all part of that generation of astronaut-type guys who did all sorts of crazy stuff but weren't considered to be "astronauts" at the time.

Like the X-15 pilots. They were awarded astronaut wings later in many cases.

Or that nut (Colonel Stapp) who did all of those rocket sled rides. The big one of that round used an open-cockpit sled that was run up to 0.9 Mach (he wore a helmet and was strapped down so the wind wouldn't make his arms and legs flap so hard they'd break), and was decelerated at 25 times the force of gravity for about a second (peaks at 35 g or so - more or less like hitting a concrete wall at 120 MPH).

That's 900 km/h, not 900 mph (900 km/h is 560 mph, and the speed of sound is 340 mph). Loose shit.

A little known fact, Cialis was originally developed for the Cheney space elevator project.

And, Ace, you will be proud to know that your 'war porn' feature will also play a prominent role in the technology, so you might have to step up production.

That would be 771.18 MPH for the speed of sound (@ 70 degrees F);
718 mph @ freezing (0 C)

560 mph ain't gonna git 'er done.

That is easily the coolest thing I have seen in...probably ever. I have one question: the video ends with that tantalizing line about how the dude never felt he was falling at the higher altitude. Is that simply because the air was thin and therefore he felt no resistance? If so, at what elevation does that start? How high do you have to go before you feel like you're floating, even though you're really plunging to your death at totally bitchin' speeds?

It's nice to see that the Man High Project is getting some press. My dad, Melvin D. Johnson, a Technical Sergeant in the Air Force at that time, was the ground superviser for this launch, he also holds the world's record for the largest baloon ever launched sent up from Chico California, . This research branch of the Air Force was stationed at Holloman AFB in New Mexico. It was the precursor to NASA and tested weather and atmosphere. Joe Kittinger now lives in the Orlando area, my dad passed away a few years ago, he retired from the Air Force as a Chief Master Sergeant and then went to work for a company in Minnesota that developed the re-entry heat shield for the Apollo program.

I merely echo what others have said: "WOW."

The video is awe-inspiring. The idea of being so high up that the curvature of the planet is THAT apparent...damn, that's pretty high up for a guy without a spaceship around him. The Man Who Fell To Earth!

Here is a bio on the guy, quite the resume.

All right, let's get this sorted out. She says he accelerated to 990 kph (615 mph). Neglecting air resistance, he'd have reached his speed in about 4 km. At 26 km altitude the speed of sound is 1224 km/hr (761 mph or 340 m/s), so he reached Mach 0.808.

Man! To learn about Captain Kittinger all you had to do was read the Guiness Book of World Records. I've known about him since 1972.

Just checked the Wright-Patterson AFB page - it says he reached 714 mph, starting at an altitude of 102,800 ft. If he hit his peak velocity at 90,330 ft, that gives a speed of sound of 671 mph, and a Mach number of 1.063

I don't think they are sure of his exact top speed, I found many references to him hitting mach .9 but he claims he broke it.

Sky diving from outer space i saw this on a episode of the 60s sci fi series LOST IN SPACE

Somebody tried to break his record.....

Skydiver Nicholas Piantanida tried to break Kittinger's unofficial record three times, beginning in 1965. On the first attempt, a 6-knot wind decapitated his balloon at 22,700 feet. On his second attempt, Piantanida couldn't disconnect from his onboard oxygen.

The circumstances of Piantanida's third and fatal attempt remain baffling. He was still on his way up at 57,600 feet when ground control staff heard a scream and then a monstrous gush of air come through their monitors. Piantanida had lost pressure at 11 miles high. One theory is that he may not have prebreathed sufficiently before taking off, later causing him to struggle for breath, panic, and open his visor. If so, "it was basically suicide," speculates his daughter, Diane Shearin

I don't think they are sure of his exact top speed

All the other references say 614 mph, rather than 714 mph - musta beena typo. That gives him Mach 0.92. Not bad, but no shocks.

Cool. But how is that testing "high-g acceleration?" Wouldn't it still be one-g acceleration? Like with jumping off of my bed.

I suspect he meant "high-altitude"

NASA engineers call it "a breakthrough."

No, Gwen Stefani called it a "breakthrough". That's why she's pregnant -- that damned diaphragm couldn't stand up to Cheney's stupendous dork. (It's a little known fact that Pink is a Cheney tribute band.)

...and I wanted to mention that this kind of thing is routinely done by the military Special Forces paratroops. It's called HALO (High Altitude, Low Opening). They don't go as high up as this guy apparently did, though; HALO jumps are usually done at 26,000 - 30,000 feet.

Kittinger is a pretty amazing dude.

He volunteered to go to Vietnam, where he flew nearly 500 combat missions before he was shot down and spent 11 months in a North Vietnamese prison camp.

In the 80s he set a bunch of balloon records, including becoming the first man to solo a balloon across the Atlantic.

Check out this link: http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/Kittinger/EX31.htm">Joseph Kittinger.

More recently, in his late 70s, he's been barnstorming around the country in a 1929 biplane offering rides.

Screwed up the links.

Try this one: Joe Kittinger

"His dork is made up entirely of "composite-carbon nano-tubes thirty times stronger than titanium..."

Yeah, and don't forget about his "buckyballs."

I read about Kittenger years ago. He's an amazing dude.

In related space news, Dick Cheney has offered his schlong as the space-elevator Instapundit and Arthur C. Clarke are always going on about (and on, and on, and on about).

The main problem with a space elevator is you need a suitably BIG counterweight in geosynch orbit at the other end of the lift, like a smallish asteroid, or barring that, Michael Moore.

If so, at what elevation does that start? How high do you have to go before you feel like you're floating, even though you're really plunging to your death at totally bitchin' speeds?

At 30KM, there is little air resistance, but at about 15-20KM the atm starts to thicken up a bit. To really feel like you are floating, you need to be at least 80KM above, where the atm pressure is negligable...unfortunately, attempting to orbital skydive at that height will cause a much higher acceleration, terminal v probably about 3-5KM/S, and then there's that nasty problem of burning up when you suddenly start to decelerate in the thickening atmosphere...unless you happen to be wearing some of the Shuttle's thermal tiles...

Also, 30KM isn't exactly being "in space"...you need to be at least above 60KM for that, but still and all, pretty cool anyway.

there's that nasty problem of burning up when you suddenly start to decelerate in the thickening atmosphere...

That is, if he comes in on a tangent, as a spaceship does, otherwise if it's a straight drop down, probably wouldn't burn up too quickly, though his chute might rip to shreds instead. Also, if he were to go into a spin above the atmosphere, he would be in very grave trouble indeed.

Thanks, geoff, for sorting that out. I was really tired when I posted my piece of crap analysis. I am ashamed.

Yes, I know that this thread is dead. I am doing this for myself.