Why hasn't the world record highest parachute jump been broke in 45 years?

[NNN0LHI]

"In 1960 Captain Joseph Kittinger of U.S. Air Force bailed out of a polyethylene plastic balloon at 31,354 m setting a new altitude record for balloon flight and a new record for parachute descent.""

Colonel Joe Kittinger. On August 16, 1960, he set three world records: the highest parachute jump (102,800 feet), the longest parachute free fall (4 minutes 36 seconds), and the first person to exceed the speed of sound without an aircraft or space vehicle (714 mph during free fall)."

"On Aug. 16, 1960, Kittinger set the world's record (which remains unbroken) for the longest (19.5 miles) and fastest (4 minutes and 36 seconds) skydive. He reported his experience in National Geographic. His epic dive started from a helium balloon that he floated to an altitude of 102,800 feet (31,330 m). This high, the sky is black and the Sun intense."

[trof]

1. Even at 50,000 feet, the sky is black.

I did that once, in a T-38.
At that altitude you're through something like 95% of our atmosphere.

I'm wondering about his Mach number.
Did he make a sonic boom?
At that altitude and temp, it's easier to go through the Mach, but it just don't sound right.
Know what I mean?

I remember that, seeing it on TV.

[Maestro]

2. I saw a report on that once.

I think it was on the old Discovery Wings channel. The military was testing the effects and feasability of high altitude jumps in case pilots of mainly spy planes had to bail out. Kittinger stated that there was no wind from where he jumped and because of that he had no sense of falling until much later in the jump when he was much lower. I suppose now with the advent of satellites there is no need for such high altitude jumps unless NASA wants to start investigating how to the space shuttle astronauts could possibly horrific situation.

[CanuckAmok]

3. I'm sure there's a HALO approach to the research...

Imagine jumping over Egypt, and landing in Iran, for example.

[Shine]

4. Dang! 102,800 foot jump?! I did a tandem last year from 18,000 ft

and we definitely need oxygen at that height. I can't even imagine doing what Kittinger did. Whew!

That's intense.

Wow.

:wow:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. In 1966, a man named Nick Piantanida tried twice to break that

record by bailing out at 120,000 ft. He died on the second attempt.

That may have dissuaded others. :-(

[DainBramaged]

6. The first person to exceed the speed of sound without an aircraft

or space vehicle.

I cannot imagine that under any circumstances. Guy must have had nuts big enough to carry in a wheel barrow. Bet even Evil Knievel was jealous. Must have been one helluva anchor he tossed out to slow down.

Mommy, what was that noise?

Well dear, from the looks of the con trail, Daddy's out screwing around in the ionosphere again.

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. Cuz it involves bad grammar

:7

"broken"...

Seriously, though, it is rather bizarre that it hasn't been broken - given how we go higher and faster and every other kind of record is constantly being broken.

Then again, to break that record, a person would have to be really, really, really seriously in love with risk and danger; AND he only set that record because he was in an emergency situation and HAD to bail out, if memory serves.