The Mojave Air and Space Port’s tarmac will be filled with aircraft of all types as the annual Mojave Experimental Fly-in is held on Saturday, April 15. The event is free to all. For more information, visit https://www.mojaveflyin.com/ On Saturday at 11 a.m., pilot Rob “Skid” Rowe will be speaking in the board room about his experience testing the Red Bull Stratos capsule that Felix Baumgartner used to set a […]
It seems as though skydiving daredevil Felix Baumgartner not only has a distinct dislike for Mars exploration but also for Greek truck drivers who get in his way: Supersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner has been found guilty of punching a Greek lorry driver in the face in a road rage incident in his home town of Salzburg, Austria two years ago. Baumgartner, who last month broke the world record altitude for […]
There was a fair amount of coverage on space blogs earlier t his month about Felix Baumgartner’s Red Bull Stratos skydiving adventure, in which he set a new world record by jumping from 128,100 feet (nearly 24 miles).
And why not? He ascended in a pressurized vessel that looked kind of like a space capsule wearing something very similar to a spacesuit to an altitude well above a good portion of the atmosphere. Space enthusiasts made the quick leap of imagination to a whole new sport of space diving, with daredevils jumping to Earth from suborbital space and, ultimately, orbit.
Well, just fahgedaboutit! Baumgartner says that’s a terrible idea. And he has some choice words for Richard Branson and Mars exploration.
Will Whitehorn gives a pat on the back to Richard Branson as he greets Virgin Galactic ticketholders during the Oshkosh air show in 2009.
By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor
Eight years after launching the SpaceShipTwo program, Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson is beginning to sound a bit impatient with progress even as the first powered tests of the 8-person space plane appear imminent. The Associated Press reports from Warsaw, Poland:
He says it will be at least another 12 or 18 months before the Virgin Galactic venture can offer paid space travel to adventurers….
Asked about Virgin Galactic, Branson said he has “stopped counting” days to the launch because it gets delayed “to the next year, to the next year.”
Record breaking and history making jump from the edge of space by Felix Baumgartner. View from helmet cam. Music by Ewan Dobson – Space Walk.
Felix Baumgartner successfully jumped from around 128,000 feet — nearly 24 miles!
Felix Baumgartner will attempt to set a new skydiving record on Tuesday morning by jumping from 120,000 feet. If successful, he will break the record of 102,800 feet set by U.S. Air Force Colonel Joseph Kittinger in 1960. The Red Bull Stratos mission is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. EDT (5:30 a.m. PDT) from Roswell, N.M. if weather permits. Baumgartner will ascend in a pressurized capsule attached to a […]
ROSWELL, N.M. (Red Bull Stratos PR) — The final countdown for Felix Baumgartner’s history making jump from the edge of space began on Monday after the Red Bull Stratos Technical Project Director Art Thompson declared the repaired space capsule is fit and all systems are go.
The tentative launch date for Baumgartner’s attempt to jump from an altitude of 36,576 meters has now been set for October 8, ending a period of uncertainty for the team and, for Baumgartner, the agony of waiting. The Austrian extreme sport athlete had to endure delays due to the repairs but is now delighted that the countdown is on for his attempt to become the first person to break the sound barrier in freefall and set four other world records in the process.
Video Caption: Felix Baumgartner completed a second test dive from a balloon hoisted capsule. He reached 536 mph in the freefall. His objective is to break the speed of sound on his next dive from 120,000 feet.
Felix Baumgartner landed safely yesterday after jumping from 96,640ft (29,455m) at a top speed of 536mph (863kph) over Roswell, N.M. This was Baumgartner’s second test dive before he tries to set a new dive record this Fall under the Red Bull Stratos project.
