Skydiving From Space | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.22.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.16.24

Airborne-FlightTraining-04.17.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-04.18.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.19.24

Join Us At 0900ET, Friday, 4/10, for the LIVE Morning Brief.
Watch It LIVE at
www.airborne-live.net

Tue, Oct 02, 2007

Skydiving From Space

The Next Big Thing (After the Other Big Thing)?

As aerospace entrepreneurs compete to get high-flying tourists into space, one company is already figuring out a way to get them down again.

The way Rick Tumlinson, a founding trustee of the X-Prize Foundation and the man behind Space Diver, sees it, there are two ways for tourists to get back to Earth from space.

"In one of them, you're sitting comfortably in a vehicle," he tells ABC News Reporter Josh Bell. "In the other one, you are the vehicle."

It's a good fit (sorry for the pun) in that Tumlinson's OTHER company is Orbital Outfitters, makers of space suits.

That firm is set to deliver its first suit prototype to XCOR Aerospace in a few months, according to ABC.

For the record, USAF Test Pilot Joe Kittinger holds the high-altitude parachute record. In 1960, he jumped from a balloon at an altitude of 102,800 feet. He reached a top speed of 600 mph before thicker atmosphere slowed his decent.

Now, imagine jumping from the very edge of space -- 300,000 feet above the Earth. From that altitude, you'd free fall at a speed in excess of 2,500 mph. Your suit would heat up to approximately 400 degrees.

"If you have people who are willing to surf an 80-foot tidal wave, I think you're probably going to have adventure seekers who are going to try to go for the ultimate," Senior Analyst Marco Caceres at the Teal Group, tells ABC's Bell. "The question is, is that a big enough market to make money?"

FMI: www.orbitaloutfitters.com

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.25.24): Airport Rotating Beacon

Airport Rotating Beacon A visual NAVAID operated at many airports. At civil airports, alternating white and green flashes indicate the location of the airport. At military airports>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.25.24)

Aero Linx: Fly for the Culture Fly For the Culture, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves young people interested in pursuing professions in the aviation industry>[...]

Klyde Morris (04.22.24)

Klyde Is Having Some Issues Comprehending The Fed's Priorities FMI: www.klydemorris.com>[...]

Airborne 04.24.24: INTEGRAL E, Elixir USA, M700 RVSM

Also: Viasat-uAvionix, UL94 Fuel Investigation, AF Materiel Command, NTSB Safety Alert Norges Luftsportforbund chose Aura Aero's little 2-seater in electric trim for their next gli>[...]

Airborne 04.22.24: Rotor X Worsens, Airport Fees 4 FNB?, USMC Drone Pilot

Also: EP Systems' Battery, Boeing SAF, Repeat TBM 960 Order, Japan Coast Guard H225 Buy Despite nearly 100 complaints totaling millions of dollars of potential fraud, combined with>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC