Space diving

Stratosphere jump called a parachute jump from the stratosphere, so a jump from outside the depending on latitude extending to approximately 8 to 18 kilometers above the troposphere. In the English -speaking world has established itself in contrast to the term " sky diving" for parachuting, the expression "space diving", although the beginning of space (English space) by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI ) in the Kármán line in 100 kilometers has been set.

A stratospheric jump differs significantly from simple parachute jumps. First, the required level is not reached by an airplane, so instead comes a helium balloon used. In addition, the jumper needs a space suit around the stratosphere for protection.

History

The history of the stratosphere jumps is closely associated with the development of the aerospace industry in the 1950s, by which the first jumps from the stratosphere were initiated for research and development purposes. In particular became famous the U.S. Project Excelsior, during which Joseph Kittinger graduated in the years 1959 and 1960 three jumps while aufstellte several records. Stratosphere jumps were completed in this period but also of Soviet space pioneers, such as 1966 by Svetlana Sawizkaja and Yevgeny Andreyev, who in 1962 was able to complete the hitherto longest free fall ( Kittinger had a control screen used). Andreyev jumped on November 1, 1962, together with Pyotr Dolgov. The jumps were used to test the exit section and the space suits of the Vostok capsule. Dolgov withdrew when exiting a leak in the space suit and came by the pressure loss killed.

After Nicholas Piantanida in 1966, died in record attempts for the first time less research than were mass-media purposes killed, new attempts have been made until the beginning of the 2000s, to beat the records from the 1960s. Larger notoriety achieved in particular the attempts by Michel Fournier in the years 2002, 2003 and 2008, but failed. On the other hand successfully ended in 2012, the Red Bull Stratos project with the Austrian jumper Felix Baumgartner.