Via space.com, another story about cool goings-on in commercial spaceflight: Skydiver Leaps from Stratosphere in “Space Jump” Practice.
Baumgartner is gearing up for an even bigger leap — his so-called “space jump” — from 120,000 feet (36,576 m) this summer. The current record for highest-altitude skydive is 102,800 feet (31,333 m), set in 1960 by U.S. Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger.
Baumgartner hopes his attempt will also set several other marks. He is chasing the record for longest freefall (estimated to be about 5 minutes and 30 seconds from 120,000 feet), and he hopes to become the first person to break the speed of sound during freefall.
Not that I have any desire to skydive – much less space jump – but this looks cool as all get-out. It’s been speculated as one potential adventure-tourist possibility for suborbital spaceflight (pretty sure Armadillo Aerospace‘s project specifically has that in mind).
The Chiles Files 