Monday, March 18
California Senator Steve Knight has been selected to serve as Chair of the Select Committee on Defense and Aerospace. He also introduced a Senate Concurrent Resolution to declare March 2013 as California Aerospace Month. Part of his immediate outreach was recognizing Sage Cheshire and the Red Bull Stratos team on their nomination for the Collier Trophy.
The Air Force Flight Test Museum located at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California is dedicated to preserving the exciting history of Edwards AFB and its magnificent flight test heritage. The museum’s exhibits and its extensive collection of aerospace vehicles are a testament to mankind’s leaps forward in aerospace exploration and the dedication of the brave souls who led the way.
On Saturday, May 18, Please Join the Flight Test Historical Foundation as they honor the The Red Bull Stratos Jump Team of Felix Baumgartner, Pilot, Col. Joe Kittinger, CAPCOM and Art Thompson, Project Director with 2013 Excellence in Aviation Award.
Even if you cannot attend the ceremony itself, please consider supporting the Air Force Flight Test Museum and its mission of showcasing this critical part of aviation history.
February 22, 2013
“The FAI has today ratified the 3 world records claimed by Austrian parachutist Felix Baumgartner for Maximum Vertical Speed, Exit Altitude and Vertical Distance of Freefall.”
“On 14 October 2012 and supported by a team of experts from the Red Bull Stratos Mission, Felix took off from Roswell, USA, aboard a pressurised capsule attached to a helium balloon. Wearing a specially designed suit, Felix was carried high into the sky up to an altitude of 38969.4m, where he exited the capsule and launched himself down towards Earth. Felix achieved a freefall distance of 36402.6 m and reached the speed of 1357.6 km/h before opening his parachute and landing safely on the ground.”
“By achieving these world records, Felix adds his name to the list of FAI world record holders which includes such prestigious air sport personalities as Charles Lindbergh, Yuri Gagarin and, more recently, Bertrand Piccard and Steve Fossett.”
“The FAI congratulates Felix on this great achievement.”
Sub-class: G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Speed Records
Type of record: Maximum Vertical Speed (without drogue)
Course/location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Performance: 1357,6 km/h
Parachutist: Felix Baumgartner (Austria)
Date: 14.10.2012
Sub-class :G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Altitude Records
Type of record: Exit Altitude
Course/location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Performance: 38969,4 meters
Parachutist: Felix Baumgartner (Austria)
Date: 14.10.2012
Sub-class: G-2 (Performance Records)
Category: General
Group: Altitude Records
Type of record: Vertical Distance of Freefall (without drogue)
Course/location: Roswell, NM (USA)
Performance: 36402.6 meters
Parachutist : Felix Baumgartner (Austria)
Date: 14.10.2012
Washington, DC, February 4, 2013
The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) today announced that seven aviation and aerospace projects will compete for the prestigious 2012 Robert J. Collier Trophy.
The Collier Trophy, the “Greatest Award in Aviation,” has been the benchmark of aviation and aerospace achievement for over 100 years. Awarded annually “… for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America,” it has been bestowed upon some of the most important projects, programs, individuals, and accomplishments in our nation’s history. Past winners include the crews of Apollo 11 and Apollo 8, the Mercury 7, Scott Crossfield, Elmer Sperry and Howard Hughes. Projects and programs which have been the recipient of the Collier include the B-52, the Polaris Missile, the Surveyor Moon Landing Program, the Boeing 747, the Cessna Citation, the Gulfstream V, the F-22 and the International Space Station. The 2011 Collier was awarded to the Boeing Company for the 787 Dreamliner.
The nominees are:
• The Lockheed Martin Cargo Unmanned Aerial System
• The NASA/JPL Dawn Project Team
• The Gulfstream G650
• The United States Air Force MC-12 Project Liberty Team
• The NASA/JPL Mars Science Laboratory/Curiosity Project Team
• Felix Baumgartner and the Red Bull Stratos Team
• The NASA/JPL Voyager Interstellar Mission Project Team
While not a popular vote you can help put the Stratos team over the top by casting your vote on the Flying Magazine web site. We all held our breath that day in October. Confirm what the world already knows about team Stratos’ contribution to astronautics in 2012.
Supersonic skydiver Felix Baumgartner was faster than he or anyone else thought during his record-setting jump last October from 24 miles up.
Red Bull Stratos started 52 years ago as a mission from one of the most respected men I know, Joe Kittinger, a true American hero and living legend and who I am very proud to call my friend. His achievement in aerospace led to a challenge to which so many would aspire. When my friend Felix Baumgartner requested that I assemble the team, design a program and flight test systems capable of reaching these goals, I gathered the best people I knew. These living legends were not only the best in their fields, they were my peers, associates and friends from so many other amazing programs and accomplishments. From multiple unique professional areas, they joined my call to advance aerospace technology and capture the imagination of the world while inspiring the next generation to see that anything is possible.
To the Stratos team, You have all become my associates on a truly fantastic journey. More importantly you are my family and my friends with whom I will be permanently forged together in time and history. Thank you Felix and Red Bull for helping us make history and for advancing medical and aerospace safety for future high-altitude manned flights. We have inspired the world and the next generation to understand that anything is possible if you have the will and determination to see the vision and the future. Wishing a happy and prosperous 2013 to the Red Bull Stratos, Sage Cheshire, Riedel, FlightLine Films, ATA-A, Wyle, Media House Family, and all who supported us over the years with our dreams and vision. I am blessed to have the opportunity to work with you all and look forward to our next adventure together.
From NAA.AERO
When Felix Baumgartner set a parachuting world record for maximum vertical speed (breaking the sound barrier in the process) on October 14, 2012 from an altitude of 128,100 feet, he had behind him a team that was essential to this dramatic mission. For example, Retired Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger, who made a jump in 1960 from 102,800 feet, was his adviser and radio link in the mission control center at Roswell Airport.
Project leader Art Thompson organized a bevy of highly qualified organizations and individuals that built and tested equipment such as the balloon, capsule and spacesuit designed to withstand the rigors of an altitude that no human had ever experienced. Meteorologists monitored and predicted the weather, the flight path and landing zone. Experts from the Air Force conducted the balloon launch, and a medical team was on hand to provide medical care and collect data that will benefit futurespace exploration.
Another critical person operating behind the scenes was Brian Utley, a member of the NAA Contest and Records Board, who served as the official observer of Baumgartner’s skydive on behalf of both NAA and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which certifies the world record.
Utley is an experienced observer who has overseen dozens of national and world aeronautic records. His role in planning the measurement and certification of this record began three years ago, which was two years before the flights began. “Early in the game Felix said he wanted to be the person to break the sound barrier,” he recalled, and his team worked tirelessly toward that goal.
There were five separate launches – the first two were unmanned to test the balloon, capsule, and operational readiness and to ensure the safety of the launches. “We learned something from each of these,” Utley said. “It allowed me to become much more proficient in evaluating the data and systems as we went along.” These were followed by two record-setting jumps earlier this year in March and July before the final jump in October.
“We accumulated enough data on his body drag from the first two jumps to be able to simulate what velocity he would attain on his free fall,” he explained. The preliminary data from the record-setting skydive indicates that Baumgartner broke the speed of sound at 672 mph at 111,000 ft. He reached his maximum speed of 834 mph at 92,550 which is 1.24 times the speed of sound. Utley pointed out that the speed of sound varies by temperature; at sea level it is approximately 760 mph, but as you rise through the atmosphere and the temperature gets much colder, the speed of sound decreases. For example at -70 degrees centigrade, the speed of sound is 645 mph – a difference of more than 100 mph.
Utley combined two measurements to calculate the data. The first is measurements made by a helium weather balloon that rose to 130,000 feet and radioed the temperature and wind speed as it climbed through the atmosphere, giving him a picture of the temperature all the way up plus being able to predict the drift and landing zone. Second, Baumgartner carried a chest pack with a GPS instrument that gave Utley his precise altitude and direction. It also calibrated time according to Greenwich Mean Time, allowing Utley to create a picture in three dimensions against the time clock and measure the fall as he accelerated second by second.
“There were three times in this flight that I consider the most dramatic,” Utley said. “The first was when the balloon was released and began to float up into the sky. The second is when Felix was standing on the step of the capsule getting ready to jump. It is so high he could see the curvature of the earth and know that there is nothing other than the atmosphere to slow him down as he fell. The third dramatic moment was seeing his parachute open; when we realized it was the main chute with the red side bars and not the plain white emergency chute, we knew Felix had deployed the parachute himself and was safe.”
Utley added, however, that “there are always some problems as you go along – nothing is ever perfect. We had the benefit of having more than one GPS recording device, which allowed me to fill in some gaps in the recording. For example, when he tumbles, the GPS receiver attached to the back of his helmet loses contact with the satellite.”
At one point during the jump, Baumgartner entered into a dangerous flat spin at a rate of one rotation per second. He did 16 rotations before recovering. “One thing the designers did was mount the chest pack as high on his chest as possible,” Utley noted. “This moved the center of gravity closer to his head so that it reduced the g-forces on his head which, fortunately, were not high enough for him to black out.”
Utley was in the retrieve helicopter in order to insure the integrity of the flight data and was among the first to greet Baumgartner when he landed. He witnessed Baumgartner raise his arms in thanks for a successful jump and reports that Baumgartner, when asked if he would do it again, said he “would be happy to go back to just being an ordinary helicopter pilot.”
NAA recognized Brian’s remarkable contributions recently at its Fall Awards Banquet when Contest and Records Director, Art Greenfield, presented him with NAA’s Certificate of Honor.
November 28, 2012
Teaching kids to dream about and visualize great things is the goal of Sage Cheshire’s Art Thompson who, with a team of the world’s best minds, recently set new aerospace records with Red Bull Stratos, a mission to the edge of space.
The students and faculty of Brighton Hall, a K-12 college prep for young professionals, were the beneficiary of a master class on creativity in the context of aerospace on Wednesday. Art Thompson and Mike Todd presented an overview of Red Bull Stratos, a scientific mission to the edge of space.
The goal of the Stratos program was to understand human survivability outside of pressurized air- or spacecraft using vintage and modern technology. Taking people beyond the Armstrong line of about 62,000 vertical feet above the earth is a very tricky business due to the tendency of human blood to boil at and beyond that altitude without a pressure chamber.
The Stratos team learned many things during the mission, data that will be shared with NASA and others who dare to explore near space and beyond. A pressurized suit is necessary equipment to explore those environs and on display for students and faculty to examine was the actual suit Felix Baumgartner wore when he jumped from an altitude of more than 127,000 feet.
Stratos’ Life Support Engineer Mike Todd explained the reasons for this special suit and how it differed from other types of pressure suits used in aircraft. Since the mission involved a free-falling human, unique considerations had to be made in the construction, engineering and materials.
Art Thompson, Vice President of Sage Cheshire Aerospace which was the prime contractor for Red Bull Stratos, showed images and video from the mission to a rapt audience. He also spoke about the creative process from concept to execution to help those who dare to dream.
About a hundred students, parents and faculty attended the presentation. This is one lucky group to have been able to see the actual suit in which new records were set in the manned exploration of space.
Salzburg (AUSTRIA) — “We think the sonic boom happened not as he went in to the sound barrier but when he slowed back down, said Dr. Jonathan Clark, the mission’s medical director and formerly a six-time Space Shuttle Crew Surgeon. “We hear the Shuttle when it comes back through the sound barrier; it makes the same noise. And so although this was quieter, when four teams on the ground in New Mexico, including expert personnel, all heard it, we knew that – no question – he broke the sound barrier.”
The team is analyzing the recording, including use of an algorithm typically employed by NASA, to precisely determine where the sonic boom occurred. But in the meantime, technical project director Art Thompson confirmed, “Having reached an estimated Mach 1.24, Felix is now definitely the fastest man on earth.”
While Baumgartner himself explained that he didn’t feel the shockwave as he passed through the speed of sound, Clark acknowledged that the team experienced some anxious moments, especially when Baumgartner went into a spin – which early analysis suggests lasted some 40 seconds before the 43-year-old managed to straighten out using skills trained over hundreds of simulations. “Felix was maximally prepared to deal with the spin, and he fully understood that the essence of the mission was a flight test program,” Clark noted. “We were concerned, but we were all prepared. Felix endured an incredible feat, and the essence of the program was his ability to go through the sound barrier and recover from the spin.”
Life support engineer Mike Todd agreed, “Felix started this program as a BASE jumper and skydiver and ended as a test pilot – he was the perfect guy for the job.” Clark also remarked, “For somebody to jump from near space and survive the transition through the sound barrier had never been done before, and this has contributed immensely to the survival advancements for future spacecraft. Already a lot of companies are talking about: What did we learn? How soon can we get this information? And so this is going to make a substantial difference. It was a true aviation milestone.”
Thompson added, “The fact that it was a flight test program was why we were able to assemble this leading team of experts to develop the mission; it was about science and learning – the process of saving people’s lives. We will analyze this data for months, if not years, to come. All of this furthers the future of aerospace – and from the reactions we’ve been seeing, it has also inspired a lot of young people to think about a career in aerospace or engineering: that’s really close to my heart.”
Sage Cheshire’s Art Thompson went on, “Our suit and capsule were safety devices that provided full life support of the kind that could be valuable if an aircraft has a breach in its hull. For safety, even our backup systems had backup systems. There is a lot of interest from NASA and the Air Force in the results.”
Noting that his parachute system was another important component that would have saved him even in the event of unconsciousness, Baumgartner said, “During the last five years, the team has concentrated on developing equipment and procedures for safety in what is essentially a bailout situation. I am going to stop now with BASE jumping because I have closed that chapter, but at the same time we have opened a new door for the safety of manned flight into space.”
The athlete, who the night before had joined the entire mission team for a two-hour live television special that recapped the historic achievement, noted that he is preparing to enter a new phase of his life as a helicopter pilot — a profession he’s dreamed of since childhood and for which he’s already licensed. “You need challenges, a reason to get up in the morning, and I will be flying mountain rescues,” he commented. “It will be interesting and I will still be in the air.”
Baumgartner is also preparing to take on a previously unforeseen role, as last week United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon invited him to become a youth ambassador for the organization. “In the next weeks I will process what has happened and work with the United Nations to find out how I can play a role,” Baumgartner said. “I would love to have kids of my own someday, but in the meantime it would be wonderful to work with children around the world.”
“My advice to Felix as he moves on is to take advantage of this opportunity to be an Ambassador for the UN and encourage the youth of the world,” said Col. Joe Kittinger, the mentor who held the records Baumgartner broke in New Mexico. Looking around at a team that besides Clark, Thompson, and Todd also included high performance director Andy Walshe and skydiving consultant Luke Aikins, Kittinger stated, “As for the rest of us, I am sure we will all look for other challenges, but we will never have one as exciting as Red Bull Stratos.”
