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Red Bull Stratos - Free Fall From Space.


Laurence--Trials

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My thoughts regarding the free fall record is as Felix was going at a higher speed he would travel his higher height faster than Kittinger did at his lower height...but that might be completely backward thinking....

Na fairly sure he would have been at terminal velocity anyway.

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Na fairly sure he would have been at terminal velocity anyway.

But terminal velocity reduces with altitude as the density of the air increases so because Felix started higher he would've been travelling faster through the upper atmosphere where terminal velocity is higher so would reach the lower, denser atmosphere faster where his terminal velocity would be more comparable to that of Kittinger. I'm with Andrew on this I think.

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But terminal velocity reduces with altitude as the density of the air increases so because Felix started higher he would've been travelling faster through the upper atmosphere where terminal velocity is higher so would reach the lower, denser atmosphere faster where his terminal velocity would be more comparable to that of Kittinger. I'm with Andrew on this I think.

That wouldn't entirely make sense in my opinion, what you're saying is that the higher you jump, the shorter the fall will be. I'm sure this matter is way more complicated than most of us realise but I can't quite get my head around how you could have the same free fall time from two different heights.

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That wouldn't entirely make sense in my opinion, what you're saying is that the higher you jump, the shorter the fall will be. I'm sure this matter is way more complicated than most of us realise but I can't quite get my head around how you could have the same free fall time from two different heights.

I know what you mean and I'm guessing as well. I think there would be a point at which it crosses over and the higher would indeed result in a longer freefall prior to a chute opening at a given altitude. Might try and throw the cases into excel and see if I can make any sense of it if I can be bothered!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGlF4Wtf1WM

I read somewhere that in an interview for Austrian TV, he stated that he deliberately saved the longest freefall record for Kittinger. I wish that were true, what a truly great way it would be to honour that man, all his help with the Stratos mission and his remarkable achievement over 50 years ago.

Jeez, ballsiest guy of the year award goes to Felix. Nearly passed out with dizyness watching it on Youtube so he must have had a right headache afterwards.

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Surely the height and time spent in free-fall and max speed are going to be directly related, I mean all that is happening is falling, the higher you go the longer, faster (velocity) is going to be.

Momentum is irreverent as the air will very quickly bring you to that air pressures' terminal velocity.

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After the first initial acceleration - where he reached 800-odd he will only decelerate, and his velocity will begin to reduce as he enters 'thicker' atmosphere. He could have carried on for longer as he was decelerating. This could have been aided by his body shape.

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