So did they do any science? Or was it just a marketing exercise / publicity stunt?

Maybe I'm a bit cynical, but this was cool when they did it back in the day, because it was cutting edge stuff, nobody knew what would happen, and they were doing research for the space program.

I just can't get excited about this, when it's all in the name of chasing a record and selling more energy drink... And the risk is nowhere near the same as when Kittinger did it.

And yes apparently they did some scientific tests and measurements...

swoosh said...
So did they do any science? Or was it just a marketing exercise / publicity stunt?

Maybe I'm a bit cynical, but this was cool when they did it back in the day, because it was cutting edge stuff, nobody knew what would happen, and they were doing research for the space program.

I just can't get excited about this, when it's all in the name of chasing a record and selling more energy drink... And the risk is nowhere near the same as when Kittinger did it.

Yep NASA and associated teams watched with close interest on this experiment, and drew down a great amount of invaluable data

aus301 said...
I sat there this morning wondering what was in it for Red Bull, I too can't see they would have much to gain directly out of being involved apart from being see as that company that does... I assume that in itself is enough for them, would be great if there were more out there with the same ethos.

Big hint, starts with M, ends in arketing...

aus301 said...
And based on the amount of time I saw the footage on morning TV he succeeded in captivating a decent audience.

You've answered your own question really, the amount of coverage they got is pure marketing gold.

To be fair, I think it's great that Redbull get behind stuff like this, there are many more companies who spend their money on things much less meaningful. It's cool that they did it, I just think that this particular stunt, is way overblown and overhyped for what it actually is. And all in the name of selling a product which is basically cancer in can... (okay maybe exaggerating a little), taking it to the extreme how would you feel about the stunt if it was sponsored by Marlboro? I do find it silly that they have their promo girls hanging out near the local jogging track handing out redbull like it's a sports hydration drink...

mineral1 said...
Yep NASA and associated teams watched with close interest on this experiment, and drew down a great amount of invaluable data

Source? I had a look this morning and found very little to link the two.

mineral1 said...

swoosh said...
So did they do any science? Or was it just a marketing exercise / publicity stunt?

Maybe I'm a bit cynical, but this was cool when they did it back in the day, because it was cutting edge stuff, nobody knew what would happen, and they were doing research for the space program.

I just can't get excited about this, when it's all in the name of chasing a record and selling more energy drink... And the risk is nowhere near the same as when Kittinger did it.

Yep NASA and associated teams watched with close interest on this experiment, and drew down a great amount of invaluable data

Yes, NASA were quite interested in observing the suit he was wearing and how well it held up as they are considering using it on space missions or something like that.

Have skydived a few times .. found it quite boring really ..

+1 aus301, I would have though there would be more support of someone pushing the very limits.

I have to say every I watch him drop off I get a twang of acrophobia.

Considering that suit it was a nice landing.

Well lets look at the speed of sound:1246kph @ 20degrees C at sea level air pressure.

So technically he probably did not break the sound barrier as the air wound have been much thinner and colder when he reach the "speed of sound" during the dive.

^^^ Sean all that showed me is that there are further levels after menopause.
Now I am scared.....

AUS666 said...
Plus what were the toilet facilities like? Felix was strapped in the suit for an long time so as the descent was head first did it become a literal dive and hold his breath under wee?

TRUE! I remember Joe Kittinger saying through the radio for Felix to keep hydrating...KEEP HYDRATING. I was thinking: 'my gawd, this can't end well in a space suit!'. haha

SeanAUS120 said...
I'm bored...

Should we get in to a heavy discussion about all the science behind the jump?

I'll start:

1) Did Felix make get the sonic boom as he passed the speed of sound?

2) Is the way they are measuring his pass of Mach 1 correct if the measure of mach differs at different altitudes?

My understanding is he wouldn't have got the boom because when he passed through his own sound shockwave, it would have been a pretty small force because of his size (in comparison to a plane) and because the air is so thin up there...so maybe no boom?

DISCUSS!

Ok,.. discussing.
There would have been only a very small sonic boom due to the fact that the engery available to generate the boom was minimal compared with a jet aircraft engine.
The only energy available to generate the sonic boom was his potential energy being converted into kinetic energy. Since he wasn't all that heavy there was not a lot of energy to make a loud boom,.. just a little pop maybe.

A jet aircraft makes a big boom because there is a bloody great jet engine pumping out the equivalent of 5o thousand horsepower or more which has the capacity to push up a huge wall of compressed air in front of it.

Re. speed of sound at altitude.
The speed of sound varies in a fluid medium proportional to the square root of its density, so for a density of half, speed is divided by root 2.
At high altitude the density is less and the speed of sound is slower than at sea level.
Even commercial aircraft at 35000 feet can travel quite close to the speed of sound due to less dense air. It's a bit strange really because at their service ceiling, due to the less dense air they are also closer to their stalling speed. i.e they can be close to the speed of sound and still close to stall speed.

I would think because they showed a continual readout of the airspeed and altitude, they wouldn't have fudged this one because they would know they would get busted on it.

pweedas said...
Re. speed of sound at altitude.
The speed of sound varies in a fluid medium proportional to the square root of its density, so for a density of half, speed is divided by root 2.
At high altitude the density is less and the speed of sound is slower than at sea level.

That sounds pretty legit.

So when they say a Space Shuttle is orbiting the planet at Mach 25. It's just a lazy way of saying they're doing +27000km/h or so, right?

Awesome!!

SeanAUS120 said...
So when they say a Space Shuttle is orbiting the planet at Mach 25. It's just a lazy way of saying they're doing +27000km/h or so, right?

I think when they quote a mach speed for space shuttles it's usually taken in reference to the speed of sound at sea level and standard temp and pressure, which makes it around 760 miles per hour. (or 340 metres per second)
So mach 25 would be 19,000 miles per hour.
The re-entry velocity varies according to the altitude the spacecraft was orbiting at. Anything in earth orbit will have a re-entry velocity of something less than 25,000 miles per hour because anything faster than that is in excess of the earths escape velocity. In other words, if they were going faster than 25,000 miles an hour they would have simply left earth and kept going out.

The formulae which govern all that stuff are surprisingly simple and are mostly the same ones Mr Newton came up with a few hundred years ago regarding swinging a rock around in a sock. f = mv^2 / r , and for a stable orbit, the centrifical force f also has to exactly equal the force of gravity at that altitude, keeping in mind that gravity decreases as radius "r" increases. i.e. as altitude increases.

Most people think that a space shuttle in stable earth orbit has escaped earths gravity.
It has not.
If they put on the handbrake and stopped they would do exactly what Felix Watsizname did and tumble straight back to earth,. at 19,000 miles an hour.
It would be very spectacular,. for a short while.

SeanAUS120 said...

pweedas said...
Re. speed of sound at altitude.
The speed of sound varies in a fluid medium proportional to the square root of its density, so for a density of half, speed is divided by root 2.
At high altitude the density is less and the speed of sound is slower than at sea level.

That sounds pretty legit.

So when they say a Space Shuttle is orbiting the planet at Mach 25. It's just a lazy way of saying they're doing +27000km/h or so, right?

gotta quote you on this one never thought it this way