space diving

The first stratospheric space dive was in 1959 when Colonel Joseph William Kittinger II (July 27, 1928 - December 9, 2022) in Tampa, Florida, United States a former command pilot, career military officer and retired Colonel in the United States Air Force dived from a high-altitude balloon. He participated in Project Excelsior, testing the effects on pilots of ejecting at high altitude and in 1960 set a record for the highest, longest-distance, and longest-duration skydive, from a height greater than {{convert|31|km|ft|disp=flip|sp=us}}.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyGmTV0q2kY Mission to the edge of Space — Red Bull Stratos — Trailer]

On 1 November 1962, Yevgeni Andreyev and Pyotr Dolgov ascended from Volsk, near Saratov.[http://stratocat.com.ar/globos/1962e.htm "Stratospheric balloons launched worldwide in 1962"], StratoCat Andreyev jumped from the capsule at {{convert|83523|ft|km}} and free fell {{convert|80380|ft|km}} before successfully deploying his parachute. Dolgov remained in the capsule and ascended to {{convert|93970|ft|km}}. Dolgov was primarily testing an experimental pressure suit, and would have deployed a drogue chute like Kittinger's earlier jump. As he exited the gondola, he struck his helmet and cracked the visor, leading to depressurization and his death.

In 1965–1966, Nick Piantanida accomplished a set of unsuccessful attempts to jump from {{convert|123500|ft|km}} and {{convert|120000|ft|km}}. During the last attempt Piantanida's face mask had depressurized. His ground controllers immediately jettisoned the balloon at close to {{convert|56000|ft|m}}. Piantanida barely survived the fall, and the lack of oxygen left him brain damaged and in a coma from which he never recovered.

In the early 1990s, Kittinger played a lead role with NASA assisting British SAS Soldier Charles "Nish" Bruce to break his highest parachute jump record.Tom Read, Freefall (Little Brown, Edition 1, 1998). {{ISBN|0-316-64303-3}}. The project was suspended in 1994 following Bruce's mental health breakdown.

In 1997 parachutist and pilot Cheryl Stearns formed Stratoquest,{{Cite web|url=http://stratocat.com.ar/stratopedia/215.htm|title=STRATOQUEST (Project) - The balloon encyclopedia|website=stratocat.com.ar|access-date=2019-04-23}} aiming to break Kittinger's record as the first female space diver. Due either to a significant shoulder injury{{Cite web|url=http://cherylstearns.com/|title=Cheryl Stearns personal webpage}} or funding issues for the project{{Cite web|url=http://stratocat.com.ar/stratopedia/38.htm|title=STEARNS, Cheryl - The balloon encyclopedia|website=stratocat.com.ar|access-date=2019-04-23}} this plan did not come to fruition. By the time Stearns was prepared to attempt her jump, Felix Baumgartner had completed his jump and Stearns shelved her event.

In 2012, Felix Baumgartner broke Kittinger's highest altitude and Andreyev's longest-distance free fall records, when, on October 14, he jumped from over {{convert|128,000|ft|km|abbr=on}}.

{{cite news

|title = Supersonic skydive cancelled due to high winds

|url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/supersonic-skydive-cancelled-due-to-high-winds-1.1141367

|access-date = 2012-10-10

|newspaper = CBC News

|date = 2012-10-09

|author = The Canadian Press

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121012000217/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/10/09/supersonic-skydive-new-mexico-baumgartner.html

|archive-date = 2012-10-12

|location = Toronto

|url-status = live

}}

{{cite news

|last = Amos

|first = Jonathan

|title = Skydiver Felix Baumgartner lands highest ever jump

|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19943590

|date = 2012-10-14

|newspaper = BBC News

|archive-url = https://archive.today/20121223153647/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19943590

|archive-date = 2012-12-23

|location = London

|url-status = live

}}

In 2014, Alan Eustace set the current world record highest and longest-distance free fall jump when he jumped from {{convert|135908|ft|km}} and remained in free fall for {{convert|123334|ft|km}}. However, Kittinger still holds the record for longest-duration free fall, at 4 minutes and 36 seconds, which he accomplished during his 1960 jump from {{convert|102800|ft|km}}.

File:Comparison International Standard Atmosphere space diving.svg temperature and pressure.]]

There are several technical requirements and challenges to the possibility of space jumping. These requirements would be somewhat eased when entering the atmosphere from a simple drop, where the heat of reentry would be considerably less than that of reentering from orbit.

{{cite news

|last = Hsu

|first = Jeremy

|title = Why Can't You Go Space Diving Yet?

|url = http://www.space.com/17905-go-space-diving.html

|access-date = 2012-10-10

|newspaper = Space.com

|date = 2012-10-04

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121008002441/http://www.space.com/17905-go-space-diving.html

|archive-date = 2012-10-08

|location = New York

|url-status = live

}}

At any given density of air, the terminal velocity of a person is much lower than that of a heavy spacecraft. This is because starting from a stationary platform means that fall speed never exceeds the local terminal velocity (though this is quite high in thin atmosphere) and a small light body slows down relatively quickly as the atmosphere thickens.

Parachutes would require increased strength to slow the higher weights associated with the added equipment.The Kármán line is the internationally accepted definition as to where space begins at 100 km (62 mi) above sea level. This definition is accepted by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which is an international standard setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics and astronautics. The United States Airforce uses 80 km (50 mi) to award astronaut wings.

{{cite web

|title = High dive - Space diving

|work = Popular Science

|publisher = Bonnier Corporation

|url = http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/article/2007-06/high-dive?single-page-view=true

|date = 2007-06-25

|author = Speed Weed

|location = New York

|access-date = 2012-10-10

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121022021151/http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/article/2007-06/high-dive?single-page-view=true

|archive-date = 2012-10-22

|url-status = live

}}

NASA is known to have investigated the concept in case of an emergency situation on Space Shuttle orbiters where alternative methods of reentry are not available. However, such planning has not moved beyond the conceptual stage given the high energies involved in reentry from orbital speeds.

• Low Earth orbit, begins at around 160 km
• Project Excelsior, c. 1960, including Kittinger
• MOOSE, a study of an orbital bail-out system using a parachute
• Red Bull Stratos

• Yevgeni Nikolayevich Andreyev
• Cheryl Stearns, plans for Stratoquest
• Steve Truglia, plans for Space Jump
• Michel Fournier, Le Grand Saut attempts
• Nick Piantanida, died after Strato Jump III attempt in 1966
• Olav Zipser, Free Fly Astronaut Project
• Charles "Nish" Bruce
• Victor Prather

• In Dark Star, 1974 film, Doolittle decides to 'surf' on debris to the planet or die in the attempt.
• Star Trek: Generations, in a deleted scene from 1994 film which depicts a fictional space jump
• Star Trek: Voyager, in 1998 the season 5 episode 3 titled Extreme Risks which depicts a fictional space jump
• Star Trek, a 2009 film which depicts a fictional space jump
• Ad Astra, a 2019 film which depicts a fictional space jump

{{Portal bar|Aviation}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Space diving}}

• [http://www.redbullstratos.com/ The Red Bull Stratos Project]
• [http://orbitaloutfitters.com/space-diver/ Orbital outfitters space diving suits]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VdSeDqU3EY Joe Kittinger's 1960 space jump video.]
• [http://www.extreme-studio.com.ua/r/skydive/rekord/rekord.htm Petruk's calculations about 500-km space jump]

Category:Parachuting

Category:Ballooning