General Discussion

FarPoint

(14,947 posts)

30. During this waiting period..

Sun Oct 14, 2012, 01:29 PM

Oct 2012

I snooped around the web site....apparently Baumgartner has jumped before...say 98,000 ft. back in June. And...amazingly, the Ret. Col. Joe Kittinger did this in 1960! Oh........My..........God! He is on the Red Bull Team.

I had no idea!

snip>

On August 16, 1960 Joe Kittinger became a real-life superhero.

It was the "highest step in the world". Joe Kittinger made history as he ascended to 102,800 feet in a high-altitude balloon and jumped to Earth, setting four world records. During a distinguished USAF career, Joe served as a test pilot, Squadron Commander, and Vice Wing Commander, and he spent 11 months as a POW in Vietnam. He retired as a Colonel and subsequently set two world ballooning records and won numerous ballooning competitions.

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Dude, dude, dude... Jump dude, jump! [View all] originalpckelly Oct 2012 OP

Approximately seven minutes to jump. originalpckelly Oct 2012 #1

Right now he's halfway there! originalpckelly Oct 2012 #3

OMG I forgot! Thanks! nolabear Oct 2012 #2

I know it is amazing. originalpckelly Oct 2012 #5

i can see the balloon from my front porch NMDemDist2 Oct 2012 #4

that would be awesome madokie Oct 2012 #8

Depends on how it turns out. randome Oct 2012 #21

It turned out good :-) madokie Oct 2012 #99

don't do it, extreme sports are insane! flamingdem Oct 2012 #6

Its showing he is a little overf 72000 ft elevation madokie Oct 2012 #7

Just heard it's off again for a few hours malaise Oct 2012 #9

i can see him heading up from my front porch NMDemDist2 Oct 2012 #10

Wow. That must be something! nolabear Oct 2012 #11

While jumping is extreme, this could be a tourism industry. originalpckelly Oct 2012 #13

That's what Alex the Twitt said a few minutes ago n/t malaise Oct 2012 #12

This is so much better than Balloon Boy tridim Oct 2012 #14

but... originalpckelly Oct 2012 #15

They've got it on a 20 second delay... originalpckelly Oct 2012 #16

Like a chicken in a fan sharp_stick Oct 2012 #17

I have the family watching now.. FarPoint Oct 2012 #18

Here we are... originalpckelly Oct 2012 #19

During this waiting period.. FarPoint Oct 2012 #30

. Brickbat Oct 2012 #20

Same here - won't load n/t malaise Oct 2012 #23

Try the direct link. Brickbat Oct 2012 #27

See my post below to Brickbat with a link to Utube. sabrina 1 Oct 2012 #33

If you get the Discovery Channel, it's on there live too. nt Lex Oct 2012 #24

It is on Discovery Channel. MuseRider Oct 2012 #25

Try utube here: sabrina 1 Oct 2012 #31

Works perfectly. Thanks for sharing. nt Comrade_McKenzie Oct 2012 #34

This is crazy. He has no way out but down now. morningfog Oct 2012 #22

This is the wildest coolest thing. originalpckelly Oct 2012 #26

Ascent is half of what it was, balloon is getting near its maximum altitude. originalpckelly Oct 2012 #28

They must have dropped more ballast. originalpckelly Oct 2012 #29

Or, as Romney would put it, "The balloons are just the right height." randome Oct 2012 #43

Ascent is slowing!.....almost there! Nt pkdu Oct 2012 #32

watching JanMichael Oct 2012 #35

Maybe he will accidentally parachute into Area 51... nt Comrade_McKenzie Oct 2012 #36

I've been waiting for a Roswell joke! LongTomH Oct 2012 #37

and disappear- JanMichael Oct 2012 #38

Or go back in time and leave balloon fragments all over. nolabear Oct 2012 #53

Why does it say 37.2 M altitude? Its 37.2 KM! johnnyrocket Oct 2012 #39

Some people think metric doesn't use commas for some weird reason Posteritatis Oct 2012 #40

Oh, yea, you're right. Period for comma. European. johnnyrocket Oct 2012 #45

You're right, it's almost 24 miles. n/t cherokeeprogressive Oct 2012 #41

Nearing the moment..almost 125k mark PotatoChip Oct 2012 #42

OMG this is crazy. IcyPeas Oct 2012 #44

It's over 127,000 feet now. sabrina 1 Oct 2012 #46

On CNN now n/t malaise Oct 2012 #47

Don't people do some crazy shit? I love it. nolabear Oct 2012 #50

Yes, this is incredible. His feet are now visible as he is getting out of the capsule! sabrina 1 Oct 2012 #63

That's some high tech there, Harry Brother Buzz Oct 2012 #48

Hey, what works, works. nolabear Oct 2012 #51

Getting ready! LongTomH Oct 2012 #49

Is his CapCom the same Kittinger who jumped from 104,000 feet? n/t cherokeeprogressive Oct 2012 #52

The very same. (nt) Posteritatis Oct 2012 #54

That is so fucking cool! cherokeeprogressive Oct 2012 #56

*POP!* nolabear Oct 2012 #55

Damn... that view of the earth... is that what he's seeing? nt blaze Oct 2012 #57

Oh. My. God. Door's open. nolabear Oct 2012 #58

Jumpage time! nt MrScorpio Oct 2012 #59

I gave up on seeing this moobu2 Oct 2012 #60

Listen to him breathing. Sounds like 2001. nolabear Oct 2012 #61

He's about to do it! originalpckelly Oct 2012 #62

holy shit IcyPeas Oct 2012 #64

He's jumped! originalpckelly Oct 2012 #68

Holy crap! nt blaze Oct 2012 #65

The first step is always a doozy nt MrScorpio Oct 2012 #66

I am not afraid of heights, but just seeing this view on TV freaks me out a bit! tarheelsunc Oct 2012 #67

CNN just cut away - what the f*ck IcyPeas Oct 2012 #69

Seriously blaze Oct 2012 #79

Shoot has deployed. originalpckelly Oct 2012 #81

This is a hell of a way to go down! originalpckelly Oct 2012 #70

He tumbled hard there for a while... originalpckelly Oct 2012 #72

That tumble scared the shit out of me! nolabear Oct 2012 #71

He's clearly in control. Can't understand him but he's talking. nolabear Oct 2012 #73

729 MPH! Earth_First Oct 2012 #74

I wonder if they had to make allowances in his space suit cherokeeprogressive Oct 2012 #75

Visor fogging up. nolabear Oct 2012 #76

Did he deploy the chute too sonn to break freefall record? nolabear Oct 2012 #77

Just deployed. 2:12 EDT NutmegYankee Oct 2012 #82

He missed it by about 17 seconds it seems tarheelsunc Oct 2012 #83

Damn he doesnt sound too good :( darkangel218 Oct 2012 #78

He sounds fine to me. Lex Oct 2012 #85

he (Felix) just said his visor is fogging up IcyPeas Oct 2012 #80

WOW. That's all I got. nolabear Oct 2012 #84

Can't wait to see the helmet cam vid. Ikonoklast Oct 2012 #86

He is on the ground safe and sound!!!! Jamastiene Oct 2012 #87

And he sticks the landing! nolabear Oct 2012 #88

wow incredible n/t darkangel218 Oct 2012 #89

Damn lillypaddle Oct 2012 #90

NAILED IT! intaglio Oct 2012 #91

Dang, looks like he didn't make mach 1. 729 v 768 X_Digger Oct 2012 #92

It's lower in speed at altitude. NutmegYankee Oct 2012 #98

science. just sayin.... IcyPeas Oct 2012 #93

Thanks for posting that Generic Other Oct 2012 #94

Whew! That was pretty exciting! nt blaze Oct 2012 #95

My question is: How did he do that without soiling himself? Jamastiene Oct 2012 #96

Who says he didn't? rateyes Oct 2012 #100

Who said he didn't LOL!!! I bet he did!!!! BelleCarolinaPeridot Oct 2012 #101

That was awesome! PotatoChip Oct 2012 #97

That was one of the coolest thing I've ever watched. Odin2005 Oct 2012 #102

Agreed! Nt a la izquierda Oct 2012 #103

I MISSED IT! D= sakabatou Oct 2012 #104

The BBC has a video Jamastiene Oct 2012 #105

Thanks for the link! MelissaB Oct 2012 #106