Why Did Felix Baumgartner Jump From 128,000 Feet Instead of Going Higher?

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The discussion centers on the altitude of 120,000 feet for a high-altitude jump, questioning why this height was chosen instead of going higher. It highlights that 120,000 feet is significantly below the Kármán line, which is at 100 kilometers, and is within the stratosphere rather than the thermosphere. Participants note that the balloon's capabilities and the jumper's suit limitations likely influenced the decision to stop at this altitude. Concerns are raised about the risks of spinning during freefall, which could lead to loss of consciousness or complications with parachute deployment. The jump reached a maximum speed of around 833.9 mph, but there were discussions about whether this broke any records. The conversation also touches on the emotional aspects of the jump, with some expressing relief at the jumper's safe landing and others questioning the safety measures in place during the jump. Overall, the thread reflects a mix of technical analysis and personal reactions to the jump event.
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Why only 120,00ft? How much higher could he go before he is like 5,000ft from leaving the atmospshere never to return again?
 
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120,000 ft is already about twice the Kármán line, and right in the thermosphere. For reference, the ISS orbits in the thermosphere.
 
uperkurk said:
How much higher could he go before he is like 5,000ft from leaving the atmospshere never to return again?
The question makes little sense: the atmosphere doesn't have a defined boundary from which to measure being 5,000 ft below it.
 
uperkurk said:
Why only 120,00ft? How much higher could he go before he is like 5,000ft from leaving the atmospshere never to return again?

He is in a balloon, not a rocket. He cannot leave the atmosphere and not come back.
 
So why not just go as high as possible and then jump? Why stop at 120,000 ft?
 
uperkurk said:
So why not just go as high as possible and then jump? Why stop at 120,000 ft?

Dunno. His balloon may not be capable of going any higher for one. I'm sure there are other issues involved at increasing altitude.
 
maybe his suit is also only rated for a certain height or something
 
It may be a matter of duration - how long it takes to get there, then fall.

I would love to do that!

I'd settle for a wingsuit from the top of the clouds.
 
Astronuc said:
I'd settle for a wingsuit from the top of the clouds.
That beard would cause some unstable flight dynamics I think. :smile:
 
  • #10
jhae2.718 said:
120,000 ft is already about twice the Kármán line, and right in the thermosphere. For reference, the ISS orbits in the thermosphere.

I think your math is a little off. 120k ft is just over 36km, the karman line is 100 km. That puts him below the mesosphere and into the stratosphere.
 
  • #11
JonDE said:
I think your math is a little off. 120k ft is just over 36km, the karman line is 100 km. That puts him below the mesosphere and into the stratosphere.

You're right; in fact it's more than a little off. That's what I get for doing arithmetic in my head instead of MATLAB. Somehow I translated 62 mi into 62,000 ft.
 
  • #13
God did not intend Man to do this.
In fact, God didn't intend Man to anything since one of them doesn't exist.
This stunt won't improve that situation.

When people wish to die by falling, they ought to have the courtesy to let their death scream precede them, rather than postcede them.
 
  • #14
The jump is due any moment now, BBC news 24 is focused on it.
 
  • #15
that was pretty awesome

I'm really glad he made it safe
 
  • #16
Did he break the speed of sound?

He should have went higher and tried to break the speed of light.
 
  • #17
Just saw it now , he didn't manage to break the world record i think because he deployed his parachute at 4 min 19 seconds.
 
  • #18
I believe that he broke Kittinger's record for 614 mph freefall speed, but spent less time free falling.

I think he got to like 729 mph? Though of course I guess they have to verify it however they do that.
 
  • #19
SHISHKABOB said:
I believe that he broke Kittinger's record for 614 mph freefall speed, but spent less time free falling.

I think he got to like 729 mph? Though of course I guess they have to verify it however they do that.

I think he got a little higher than that about 800+ but he slowed down afterwards.
 
  • #20
There was a great moment when he regained the control - there was a moment when he was spinning faster and faster, but apparently the air density got high enough and in a split second he had things under control and was flying head first.

Nobody commented on that in Polish TV where I watched the jump, apparently they had no idea what they were seeing.
 
  • #21
Borek said:
There was a great moment when he regained the control - there was a moment when he was spinning faster and faster, but apparently the air density got high enough and in a split second he had things under control and was flying head first.

Nobody commented on that in Polish TV where I watched the jump, apparently they had no idea what they were seeing.

Just wondering why they didn't fit a camera into his helmet...and on a lighter note what tune would you play as your freefalling...'eye of the tiger'...?
 
  • #23
Greg Bernhardt said:
Anyone have a video link?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEYWbAeGX4A
 
  • #24
The spinning moment is not present in this video.
 
  • #25
Borek said:
The spinning moment is not present in this video.

it's real blurry and hard to tell but at like 2:41 you can see that he's spinning

when it cuts to the mission control people moments later you can see one of the dudes making a spinny motion with his hands

but yeah I was watching the live steam and for a while you could really see him spinning fast. There's probably better videos out there.
 
  • #26
I noticed spinning but it was for very short time. He lost control for like one second from what appears to be in the video
 
  • #27
As far as I remember the moment with spinning and regaining control was just when the view got back from the mission control to falling FB. That's cut out.
 
  • #30
rootX said:
Their conversion looks wrong?
http://www.unitarium.com/speed
Maybe Mach 1.096?

I think that they adjusted the speed of sound for his altitude
 
  • #32
From the BBC stream it seemed he was spinning violently for a while
 
  • #33
Yeah, I watched it live, and that embedded vid had a large chunk edited out. That slight spinning shown wasn't anything like it ended up. It was quite violent, and I was surprised the automatic drogue or chute specifically for that situation wasn't deployed.

He spun much faster and for quite a while before they cut to that mission control shot, then recovered and maintained head down freefall for a few minutes before deploying the chute.
 
  • #34
I didn't watch it live, but it was spectacular nonetheless. Seeing him on his knees with his fists in the air was a huge relief!
 
  • #35
Better video here:



Watch him spinning and stopping to spin between 2:30 and 2:45.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #36
In response to the OP, the balloon topped out at just under 128,000 ft, because this was the float altitude of the balloon, meaning the altitude at which the pressure of helium inside is equal to the ambient pressure outside. At this point, any excess helium vents out the bottom, and there is no more lift. Also, these are stratospheric balloons, they don't go up into the thermosphere, whoever said that.
 
  • #37
What is the big deal about him spinning?
 
  • #38
leroyjenkens said:
He should have went higher and tried to break the speed of light.

Then he could land before he takes off and know that everything will turn out OK.
 
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  • #39
DeepSpace9 said:
What is the big deal about him spinning?
It could cause him to black out or get tangled in his chute.
 
  • #40
DeepSpace9 said:
What is the big deal about him spinning?
The spinning speed could reach 3.6 revolutions per second, 2.3 revolutions per second can already be harmful or fatal to a human being. It appeared that they switched to the ground station in order to protect the viewers from that sight of spinning, the fact that they've taking out the spinning in the videos posted here suggests it was really worrisome?

I watched the stream live and there were quite a few moments when Baumgartner was unresponsive when preparing to uncouple himself from the capsule. I imaged it would be because of stress levels, the person on the ground appeared to soothe him by saying comforting words, did he comment on what went through his mind at that time or was it just because the communications were not getting through?
 
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  • #41
Monique said:
The spinning speed could reach 3.6 revolutions per second, 2.3 revolutions per second can already be harmful or fatal to a human being. It appeared that they switched to the ground station in order to protect the viewers from that sight of spinning, the fact that they've taking out the spinning in the videos posted here suggests it was really worrisome?

I watched the stream live and there were quite a few moments when Baumgartner was unresponsive when preparing to uncouple himself from the capsule. I imaged it would be because of stress levels, the person on the ground appeared to soothe him by saying comforting words, did he comment on what went through his mind at that time or was it just because the communications were not getting through?

when I was watching the live stream I saw him hesitate, and tbh it looked like just one of those moments where you go "oh god wait a second" but then he pulled through it
 
  • #42
The moment when he was spinning was very scary. Here is an interview of him:

http://kurier.at/video/nachrichten/1900974173001-felix-baumgartner-ich-hatte-traenen-in-den-augen.php
In German

Baumgartner: "It really started to get violent. For a few seconds I thought I would lose my conciousness."
 
  • #43
What would be the effects if he pulled his chute too early, or during the spin?
 
  • #44
DeepSpace9 said:
What would be the effects if he pulled his chute too early, or during the spin?
Deploying the chute while spinning risks becoming entangled in the chute in which case, the chute might fail and one could continue to fall. If one cannot become unentangled, one might fall to the ground.
 
  • #45
uperkurk said:
So why not just go as high as possible and then jump? Why stop at 120,000 ft?

I think it was a matter of Oxygen. Once he disengaged from the pod's life support system, he had about 10 minutes worth of Oxygen. Yeah, he probably could have gone a little higher (assuming there were no other reasons for stopping at 120K which would probably be a terrible assumption), but they were just playing it safe I'm sure. Also, wasn't it closer to 130K feet? I thought I read where it was 128K.
 

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