Skydiving
The science of Red Bull Stratos
Not only did Red Bull Stratos break records, but it also provided vital aeronautical findings...
One small step for man...
© Jay Nemeth/Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull Stratos was a historic mission to the edge of space in which Felix Baumgartner, a professional BASE jumper, fulfilled a lifelong dream: jumping from a capsule that had ascended 39 kilometres (24 miles) above Earth, attached to a helium balloon. He became the first human to break the sound barrier in freefall and established numerous additional records in the process. From its inception, the mission was envisioned as a flight test program for medical and scientific advancement in human flight.
The most important finding of the Red Bull Stratos mission’s analysis was already abundantly evident to the countless millions of viewers who watched the leap live around the world.
The Austrian adventurer’s freefall demonstrated that, with the right equipment and proper training, a human being can safely accelerate through the sound barrier. That is a vital breakthrough for the aerospace industry as it looks for answers to the questions of crew and passenger escape in emergency situations, especially with commercial space travel on the horizon.
Itching to get started...
© balazsgardi.com/Red Bull Content Pool
The release of findings from the mission is the culmination of five years of active flight test program development, and topics range from technical breakthroughs to medicine and meteorology. Some the most eagerly awaited information was Baumgartner’s preliminary physiologic data, which includes heart and respiratory rate at key points during the ascent and record-breaking freefall back to earth.
Baumgartner’s physiologic monitoring provided the team with more than 100 million data points – including the first physiologic data ever gathered from a human traveling at supersonic velocity. The newly released data not only includes his heart and respiratory rate, but also indicates the forces he encountered at milestones throughout the mission.
Felix Baumgartner after Red Bull Stratos landing
© balazsgardi.com/Red Bull Content Pool
Baumgartner’s heartbeat reached a maximum of 185 beats per minute (bpm) when he exited the capsule and ranged from 155 to 175 bpm during freefall.
Baumgartner, whose heartbeat during the pre-launch oxygen pre-breathe period was 40 to 100 bpm, had a heartbeat of 60 to 100 bpm during the ascent and 169 bpm when he hit Mach. 1.25 on the way back to earth, 155 to 180 during the parachute descent, 163 upon landing and 100 as the recovery helicopter flew him back to Mission Control. His respiratory rate hit a maximum of 30 to 43 breaths per minute during the freefall.
Felix Baumgartner - Red Bull Stratos test flight
© [unknown]
The mission achieved many science innovation milestones such as: the development and validation of pressure suit and personal parachute rig innovations; the development of new medical treatment protocols, including a protocol for the condition of ebullism anticipated to become the new standard of care; and the introduction of a “reefed” parachute system to the task of high-altitude payload recovery, offering potential benefits for both passengers and cargo.
Baumgartner’s space suit was custom designed to provide the mobility necessary for controlled freefall, as well as modifications to enhance visual acuity, GPS tracking and thermal protection. “He could have gone to the moon in that suit, but yet he was also able to fall in a head-down position and be comfortable inside it,” said Mike Todd, the life support engineer from Sage Cheshire Aerospace who personally dressed Baumgartner for every jump.
Balloons
© Jörg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
New medical treatment protocols were developed. Above approximately 19,200 metres (63,000 feet) in altitude, liquid water vapourises. Thus blood spontaneously boils, a condition called ebullism that can lead to serious consequences, especially in the lungs.
As a contingency against unforeseen exposure to the stratospheric environment, the Red Bull Stratos medical team developed a treatment protocol that for the first time indicates use of a special type of ventilator in the field.
"We've developed a clinical practice standard that will be one of the major outcomes of this program," said Dr. Jonathan Clark, Red Bull Stratos medical director and a six-time Space Shuttle crew surgeon. "Red Bull Stratos is already producing tangible results that will allow potential space travelers who are in this danger zone to have a fighting chance if they get exposed to vacuum."
...One giant leap for mankind...
© Red Bull Stratos / Red Bull Content Pool
Also new was the introduction of a "reefed" parachute system. Typically with high-altitude payloads, a recovery parachute deploys fully as soon as the payload releases from the balloon. The Red Bull Stratos capsule parachute, however, was "reefed"; meaning that restraining fabric around its circumference held the opening to just under 5 m /17 ft in diameter for the initial part of the descent, allowing the capsule to fall quickly (up to nearly 560 kmh / 350 mph) before full parachute deployment.
The result was a one-third reduction in drifting (resulting in better accuracy in landing zone prediction) and an estimated two-thirds reduction of descent time. Don Day, the mission's meteorologist, stated, "The Red Bull Stratos program will set a new standard in stratospheric lighter-than-air flights and payload.