Technology Tuesday: Red Bull Stratos Jump Delayed
Earlier today Felix Baumgartner planned to freefall 120,000 feet from the Earth’s stratosphere by way of a space capsule strapped to a gigantic helium balloon. Unfortunately, the mission is postponed until tomorrow due to unfavorable weather conditions. The name of this mission is Red Bull Stratos. Baumgartner plans to break four world records and monitor his health as he jumps, in the name of scientific and medical research for future pioneers in the category of extreme freefalling.
The Austrian daredevil plans to take a three hour journey in a pressurized space capsule connected to a gigantic helium balloon that is more than 55 stories high and 30 million cubic feet in capacity. Once he reaches the Earth’s stratosphere 120,000 feet in the air, he will jump out of the capsule in a specialized space suit and helmet, and freefall, releasing his parachute at 5,000 feet. The entire jump will take about 10 minutes. He plans to break the four following records:
– First person to reach supersonic speed in freefall and first person to break the speed of sound and achieve Mach 1 (estimated 690 mph, potentially more).
– Freefall from highest altitude ever (120,000 feet).
– Longest Freefall Time (expected freefall of 5 minutes, 35 seconds or more).
– Highest Manned Balloon Flight (120,000 feet in the air)
The jump, set to take place in Roswell, New Mexico, was postponed due to high wind speeds that could be very dangerous for Baumgartner’s trip to the stratosphere in his balloon. The mission will continue as planned tomorrow morning. You can watch this jump live at redbullstratos.com/live from nearly 30 cameras on the capsule, the ground and a helicopter.
Other Technology News
– Excited about the Red Bull Stratos event after reading the blog post above? This link has the best pictures from Red Bull’s #stratos Instagram feed. (via Mashable)
– Looking for a roommate? See how the dating site OKCupid uses its algorithms to match perfect couples for finding you a new roommate. (via Mashable)
– Riding a bike can be both fun and necessary for transportation. This article gives you a sneak peek at a new technology for bike helmets. It’s a sensor that can actually tell if you crash, and after it will call for help immediately! (via cNet)