Leap from the stratosphere: a legend born before our very eyes

The footage capturing how the famous leap from the stratosphere of Felix Baumgartner was performed, went around the world and immediately became a sensation. However, few people know that even before the Austrian extreme, attempts were made to make a jump from an unthinkable height.

In early November 1962, Soviet testers E. Andreev and P. Dolgov were instructed by the leadership of the Air Force to climb to a height of over 25 kilometers and make a jump from the stratosphere. The goal in this case was quite specific: to test how parachutes will behave when exposed at different heights. If E. Andreev's experience as a whole was a success, then for Dolgov this jump ended tragically: at the time of the jump from the gondola, the helmet was damaged, and the officer elementary choked because of a lack of oxygen. Andreev's rates of free fall speed and altitude were considered record records for a long time and were recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

Another notable jump from the stratosphere was made in mid-August 1960 by the American D. Kittinger. The figures here were even more impressive: the altitude of the stratospheric lift exceeded 31 thousand meters. However, this jump was not recorded as a record for the reason that a stabilizing parachute was used during the descent.

Thus, we can conclude that the parachute jump from the stratosphere in itself was not something out of the ordinary, mankind has already mastered all stages of its conduct for a long time. However, this does not detract from the merits of Felix Baumgartner, who on October 14, 2012 showed an outstanding result, covering several records at once.

Firstly, the jump from the stratosphere itself was carried out from a height of just over 39 kilometers. Record is also the indicator of the rise of the stratosphere, which has never before exceeded the "modest" 35 kilometers. Secondly, for the first time with a free fall, the man was overcome by a sound barrier, and the maximum speed reached 1342 kilometers per hour. Finally, in the third place, F. Baumgartner made a real show from this event, and the number of views of this historic event on the Internet exceeded all conceivable and unthinkable figures.

Actually, the jump from the stratosphere, carried out on October 14, 2012, was the result of a long and painstaking work, which took more than seven years, and several tens of millions of dollars were spent. These funds went to design and create a special capsule for the stratosphere, as well as tailoring a special costume. In addition, F. Baumgartner carried out hundreds of jumps from a variety of positions, checking how he perceives his body tremendous overload.

Despite the fact that the jump from the stratosphere was accompanied by a number of problems (for example, such that the fall was originally planned from a much smaller height, but the stratosphere behaved unpredictably and rose higher), on the whole, it demonstrated the tremendous opportunities that humanity possesses for carrying out the most daring plans.