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-04.28.25

Airborne-NextGen-04.29.25

AirborneUnlimited-04.30.25

Airborne-Unlimited-05.01.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.02.25

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

NTSB Final Report: Cozy Cub

Witness Reported The Airplane Was Flying Low And Was In A Left Bank When It Struck The Power Line Analysis: The pilot was on final approach to land when the airplane collided with >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Seated On The Edge Of Forever -- A PPC's Bird's Eye View

From 2012 (YouTube Edition): A Segment Of The Sport Aviation World That Truly Lives "Low And Slow" Pity the life of ANN's Chief videographer, Nathan Cremisino... shoot the most exc>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.29.25)

Aero Linx: International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) IBAC promotes the growth of business aviation, benefiting all sectors of its industry and in all regions of the world. As >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.29.25): Execute Missed Approach

Execute Missed Approach Instructions issued to a pilot making an instrument approach which means continue inbound to the missed approach point and execute the missed approach proce>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC