Frenchman Michel Fournier is readying himself and his equipment to attempt a record-setting supersonic free fall from the stratosphere.

Dubbed "The Big Jump," Fournier is eyeing next month for his supersonic free fall from about 130,000 feet (40 kilometers) — roughly 25 miles above Earth. The dive from a balloon-carried gondola is slated to take place above the plains of Saskatchewan in Canada.

If successful, Fournier will beat four world parachuting records from the border of space:

* Altitude record for free fall
* Altitude record for human balloon flight
* Time record for longest free fall
* Speed record for fastest free fall — breaking the sound barrier in the process

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13842223/

[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 07-13-2006).]

A friend of mines dad has held this record for 46 years.

On Aug. 16, 1960, Capt. Joseph Kittinger jumped into the record books after his dive from a height of 102,800 feet (31,334 meters). That jump set records that still stand today — the highest parachute jump, the longest free fall and the fastest speed ever attained by a human through the atmosphere. But somewhat in contention was Kittinger’s use of a small stabilization parachute during his record-setting fall.

And hopefully he WON'T break the coveted "Deepest impact crater by a human being" record.

"The Sky Above, The Thud Below" --Mad magazine

Joe went supersonic in the thin atmosphere. He had a 12 inch drogue chute for stability. lost contiousness for several minutes during the fall.

quote Originally posted by Wolfhound: Joe went supersonic in the thin atmosphere. He had a 12 inch drogue chute for stability. lost contiousness for several minutes during the fall.

And if I remember right, he couldn't see becouse he iced up, & almost froze to death!

Yeah, he opened manually but had a altimeter triggered device to open if he was unable to.
This was early space program work.

quote Originally posted by Wolfhound: Joe went supersonic in the thin atmosphere. He had a 12 inch drogue chute for stability. lost contiousness for several minutes during the fall.

And wasn't he the only guy to ever break the sound barrer & create a sonic boom, with HIS BODY?!!!!!!

He was first , It may be that it's been done since.

quote Originally posted by Wolfhound: Joe went supersonic in the thin atmosphere. He had a 12 inch drogue chute for stability. lost contiousness for several minutes during the fall.

Although I tossed out an offhanded joke, earlier, this is nothing short of amazing.
What kind of shape must these guys be in to do things like this!

Don't know Radar, I,d guess a little bit crazy helps!
It would be a hard step to take. Nothing even close to this had been done.
One big step for mankind.
Oh, that cord connected to the balloon triggered the photo.
He was the only one aboard.

That's insane, I couldn't imagine jumping from a plane with a parachute from 30,000 feet, much less 130,000. What kind of temperature is it up there? Where does space begin, it must be close-by? I don't think my body could handle going supersonic. If he manages to complete this feat, he will have mine and a lot of other people's respect.

As far as I'm concerned there are only 2 good reasons to jump out of an aircraft. Its falling apart around you, or its on fire. That second one still leaves you time to try to put the thing out before doing something as drastic as jumping.

quote Originally posted by Raydar: Although I tossed out an offhanded joke, earlier, this is nothing short of amazing. What kind of shape must these guys be in to do things like this!

I imagine that they have to be able to withstand crazy g-forces. If he uses a stabilization chute, he can probably keep himself at a point where blood doesn't rush in or out of his head (head and feet at the same height). It sounds pretty cool. Of course, I have a numb sense of fear, so perhaps it is more dangerous than I presume...

I don't believe G-force was a factor. He said there was no sensation of speed at all. As the atmosphere gets more dense at lower altitude you begin progressively slowing so that when the chute open you are at around a 100 MPH.

i dont see the point. it's cold and the air is thin up there, but he'll have life support. i suppose it's better than some things people do to get their names in the paper.

It was part of medical research for the space program initially.
This guy is just going for a record.

quote Originally posted by moleman_in_a_FieroGT: I imagine that they have to be able to withstand crazy g-forces.

There wouldn't be many.. Probably.. 1 I would think..

yep... one G, same as all the rest of us experience... unless the parachute doesn't open, then there are some serious negative G forces to deal with and it ain't purty.

quote Originally posted by Scott-Wa: and it ain't purty.

it depends on the type of art you like.

From what I understand Colonel Joe Kittenger actually burned his hand and foot while making that jump due to friction with the atmosphere.

I'm glad he is finally getting the recognition he deserves for his efforts.

Incidentally our station did an interview with him some time ago and it is the most requested re-run of all the shows. I believe we are going to have him on again at some point and if we do I'll keep everyone posted. He is probably one of if not the most interesting person in US history and ranks right up there with Americas first astronauts.

quote Originally posted by Wolfhound: Joe went supersonic in the thin atmosphere. He had a 12 inch drogue chute for stability. lost contiousness for several minutes during the fall.

quote Originally posted by lurker: i dont see the point.

Because he can. That's the only reason any skydiver needs.

I've got around a hundred jumps, 6 military, the rest were civilian, for fun and I was attempting to prove to myself that I could make myself overcome a natural fear. I can honestly say I never got over the fear of jumping, free fall was a blast and precision chute work is fun but feeling that chute open was always the greatest feeling of relief. I only had one malfunction in all those jumps, obviously it worked out OK. Jumping from this altitude is for one reason, to set a record and get into the record books. You have to be a little nuts to do something like this. Adrenilyn provides the best rush you'll ever feel. BTW, those early pioneers deserve a huge amount of respect, they were on the leading edge of technology and jumped for much different reasons than this guy, they were real heros. Just my .02 worth.

------------------
Ron
Freedom isn't Free, it's paid for with the blood and dreams of those that have gone before us.
My imagination is the only limiting factor to my Fiero. Well, there is that money issue.

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 07-14-2006).]

There is actual video From the jump, It,s incorperated into a music video.
It's the first part of the video here:
Dayvan Cowboy

http://www.warprecords.com/dayvancowboy/

[This message has been edited by Wolfhound (edited 07-14-2006).]