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Skydive Talk Inspires Discovery Students

Nov10th
2014
Written by admin

By JULIE DRAKE
Valley Press Staff Writer
Antelope Valley Press, Wednesday, November 5, 2014
jdrake@avpress.com

LANCASTER – “Rock stars” for Discovery School‘s science, technology, engineering and mathematics students are people like Art Thompson, CEO of Sage Cheshire Aerospace, the Lancaster company behind the record-breaking Red Bull Stratos skydive from the edge of space.

About 230 students in Discovery’s STEM Academy, as well as some fourth- and fifth-grade students in the Gifted And Talented Education program, heard Thompson’s first-hand account of the planning and testing leading up to the moment Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner stepped from a capsule nearly 128,000 feet high on Oct. 14, 2012.

Art Thompson 1Above, Art Thompson, founder of Sage Cheshire Aerospace and designer of the capsule used by daredevil Felix Baumgartner in his record-setting jump from the stratosphere, at right, talks to Discovery School STEM Academy students Monday afternoon.
RUBY ALVARADO / Valley Press

Sage Cheshire designed and built the pressurized capsule that carried Baumgartner aloft beneath a giant balloon.  More than 3 billion people, nearly half of the world’s population, watched video images of the jump.

Baumgartner reached Mach 1.25, or 843.6 miles per hour, during his four-minute, 20-second supersonic free fall. The jump came 65 years to the day that pilot Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the X-1 at what is now Edwards Air Force Base. Yeager traveled at Mach 1.05 in his aircraft.

Besides building the capsule, Thompson and his Sage Cheshire firm were responsible for the modified spacesuit that protected Baumgartner during his dive.

Thompson, with Mike Todd, life support engineer for the project, showed a video of Baumgartner’s jump, with the voice of retired Air Force Col. Joe Kittinger guiding Baumgartner at the start.

Baumgartner’s jump broke an altitude record set by Kittinger in 1960 as part of an Air Force program to study and solve problems of escaping aircraft at high altitudes.

Thompson said Kittinger and test pilot Bill Weaver, who survived the midair breakup of an SR-71 Blackbird spyplane, inspired him.

The students gasped the moment Baumgartner stepped from the capsule and fell silent as he sped toward earth and a safe landing. The students applauded the film.

Thompson’s message resonated with the students.

“We all got to learn about how they built the aircraft and what inspired them … and how much work and inspiration and how much hard work and dedication that they had toward accomplishing this big event,” eighth-grader Sara Brice said.

Sara, 14, added she learned how much dedication she will need to accomplish her goals, “and to always have faith in what we want.”

The teen, who wants to be a medical engineer, said Thompson inspired her.

“He just pretty much told us to take wanting, no matter how many people say it’s impossible, you can make it possible,” she said.

Eighth-grader Jalen Gumayagay, 13, most enjoyed learning about the different mechanics that went into the capsule and the space suit.

“What I learned about this amazing event is how it was performed, all the hard work and dedication and enthusiasm that they put into this project, and how they were able to pull it off, and the results and the rewards that occurred afterwards,” Jalen said.

Art Thompson 4

RUBY ALVARADO / Valley Press

Sixth-grader Jordan Hayen, 11, liked watching the video.

“I learned that you shouldn’t let people discourage you, that you should relentlessly pursue your goals no matter how people try to discourage you,” said Jordan, who wants to be an inventor and build weapons to stop terrorism when she gets older.

Seventh-grader Isaiah Jones, 12, said he wants to work in aeronautics when he’s older.

“I was always very interested in stuff that flies,” Isaiah said, adding that he has tried to make Lego models fly. “Basically what I learned today is never let failure put you down. If you fail, try again.”

The Red Bull Stratos program was a privately funded space program.

Thompson showed pictures from the various stages of the project’s development and talked about the math behind Baumgartner’s jump and how to ensure the daredevil’s safety.

He explained why they chose the David Clark space suit, the same kind of suit used by U-2 pilots and space shuttle astronauts, and what can happen to a person’s blood when there is not enough pressure in the atmosphere to hold gas molecules in it.

Red Bull funded the scientific research with the understanding that Sage Cheshire could then collect and share the data with NASA, the Air Force and different private space organizations to help develop emergency escape systems for future space travel, improved space suits and a better understanding of human physiology.

Thompson’s background is in aerospace research and development. His work experience includes work in developing the stealthy characteristics of the B-2 bomber with Northrop Grumman. He was able to draw on his years in this field to assemble a team of experts for the Red Bull Stratos project.

His presentation also included pictures and a brief explanation of Arturo’s Desert Eagle, the world’s largest paper airplane at 45 1/2 feet long with a 24-foot wingspan. The plane weighed 800 pounds and used 20 gallons of wood glue.

Thompson built the paper airplane while the team was still working on the Red Bull Stratos project.

“This gives you an idea. You’re students, so when you’re told no, that it’s impossible, it can’t be done, this is an example of the thinking outside of the box. Think of the crazy things that you believe you can do and try to think that it’s possible if you want to do it,” Thompson said.

Todd showed off a spacesuit worn by space shuttle astronaut Charlie Bolden and explained the difference between Bolden’s suit and the one worn by Baumgartner. He also explained the science behind Baumgartner’s suit and how it protected him.

Prior to starting Sage Cheshire, Thompson was in charge of the radar cross-section – otherwise known as the stealth team – for Northrop Grumman’s B-2 stealth bomber program. His own company has developed and manufactured specialized products for NASA, Raytheon and Boeing.

Eighth-grader Marijane Garcia said she, too, learned that she can always pursue her goals no matter how impossible they seem.

“With the paper airplane, that was pretty cool,” Marijane said. “Me, myself, wanting to become a test pilot or an astronaut, this was very inspiring.”

Fifth-grader Michael Southworth, 10, learned that failure is an option.

“It’s not something that has to come. If you don’t want to put in the effort and the dedication, then go and pick that option. But if you want to succeed, if you want to do the amazing accomplishment that they did, then you have to push through it,” Michael said, gesturing toward Thompson and Todd.

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Red Bull Stratos, Special Projects - STEM

Sage Cheshire-built Red Bull Stratos Graces Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Mar25th
2014
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On April 2, 2014, a special exhibit featuring Red Bull Stratos will open to the public inside the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The capsule and spacesuit will eventually be on permanent display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Please support the museum and visit the exhibit. Take photos of yourself by the capsule and post them to our Facebook page.

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International Media, Red Bull Stratos

Brian Utley Offers Inside Account of Felix Baumgartner’s New Speed Record

Dec14th
2012
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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.

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Red Bull Stratos

Brighton Hall Dreams Big With Sage Cheshire

Nov29th
2012
Written by admin

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.

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Red Bull Stratos, Uncategorized

The Second Day The Earth Stood Still

Oct29th
2012
Written by admin

Worldwide Recognition Pours in as Felix Baumgartner and Team Stratos Highlight the Mission’s Contributions to Science

© 2012 Red Bull Content Pool

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.”

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Red Bull Stratos    felix baumgartner, Free fall from edge of space, red bull stratos, sage cheshire

Gizmodo Features Sage Cheshire’s Art Thompson

Oct20th
2012
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How to watch Red Bull Stratos LIVE!

Oct8th
2012
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Supersonic Freefall – Red Bull Stratos CGI

Oct8th
2012
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RED BULL STRATOS TEAM PROVIDES FIRST LOOK AT CAMERA SYSTEMS THAT WILL RECORD AND BROADCAST FELIX BAUMGARTNER’S MISSION TO THE WORLD

Aug25th
2010
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RED BULL STRATOS TEAM PROVIDES FIRST LOOK AT CAMERA SYSTEMS THAT WILL RECORD AND BROADCAST FELIX BAUMGARTNER’S MISSION TO THE WORLD

Team faces immense challenges to provide real-time images that will advance science and thrill public

Lancaster, Calif. – August 25, 2010 – Today the Red Bull Stratos mission team provided a first look at the custom camera systems that will record and broadcast Felix Baumgartner’s stratospheric mission in real time and high definition.

The details, announced at capsule manufacturing facility Sage Cheshire Aerospace, reveal that capturing a potentially supersonic freefall from the edge of space may be one of the most complex elements of the Red Bull Stratos mission. But with in-flight cameras mounted on both the capsule and Baumgartner’s space suit, the unique setup holds potential to provide an almost first-hand perspective of what it’s like to bail out in near space and freefall 23 miles above Earth.

When current record-holder USAF Col. (Ret.) Joe Kittinger jumped from 102,800 feet (50 years ago this month), his team used spring-wound motion picture cameras warmed by hot-water bottles to document his freefall. Red Bull Stratos will use high-definition video cameras and ultra-high-definition 4K digital cinematography cameras so powerful that the challenge will be keeping them cool in an environment where the air is too thin to wick away their prodigious heat.

Ken Arnold, the man who engineered Kittinger’s Project Excelsior camera systems, remembers those pioneering jumps vividly. “I look at the pictures quite often and the one that I’m most proud of is the one where he goes out the door,” Arnold says, citing a heart-stopping shot of Kittinger’s lone form dropping into the void. He adds, “[The cameras] showed us very definitely what happened.”

Like Arnold, Jay Nemeth, the Red Bull Stratos Director of Photography and founder of FlightLine Films, is keenly aware that the mission camera systems he has developed hold responsibility for providing research data. He notes, “The better the quality of the images, the more we give the scientists to look at later and analyze – the little nuances and details that are essential in understanding something that’s never been done: a man breaking the sound barrier with his body.”

Nemeth also acknowledges that the complexity of the Red Bull Stratos system is a “double-edged sword,” saying, “We will get much more vibrant footage, more angles, more coverage; but we also have to cover more failure modes – there is much more to go wrong.”

Capsule Camera System
The Red Bull Stratos team of world-leading production experts has equipped the capsule with nine high-definition cameras, three 4K digital cinematography cameras and three high-resolution digital still cameras. Of these, four are space-rated units attached to the exterior base of the capsule. Another eight are in pressurized housings also on the exterior of the vessel – the housings are designed to protect the sensitive cameras they contain from the near-vacuum air pressure, ice and extreme heat of the stratospheric conditions. The remaining three cameras, although positioned on the interior of the capsule, are space rated to withstand the atmospheric extremes once Baumgartner depressurizes the capsule to step out. And supporting all this is a pressurized electronics “keg” that contains approximately two miles of wiring. The ensemble capsule camera system will allow Mission Control to monitor the ascent visually for any signs of pilot decompression sickness or other safety hazards; record all activity for the benefit of future scientific research; and provide viewers of the worldwide broadcast with perspectives of the capsule, the skyscape and Baumgartner himself.

“We have basically created a flying video production studio,” says Nemeth. “The cameras are remotely controlled from a station in the Mission Control Center, where camera settings can be adjusted and different angles can be chosen for downlink to flight controllers as well as live TV broadcast and webcast viewers at home.”

Recognizing that a single image can crystallize the power of a moment, the Red Bull Stratos team has made still photography a priority as well. “There’s an iconic shot of Joe Kittinger on the cover of LIFE magazine that shows him freefalling against the background of a cloud bank about 15 miles below,” Nemeth marvels. “It was taken by an automatic camera mounted on the gondola by National Geographic, a 35 millimeter that was cutting-edge at the time – but it used film; it wasn’t digital. We’re so lucky that image survived the journey.”

Adventure sports photographer Christian Pondella, who was brought in as a consultant early in the still camera system’s development to provide input on lenses and camera mount positions, opted for still cameras with small bodies yet large resolution, and suggested a 14mm wide-angle lens to capture Baumgartner’s exit from the capsule, as well as a 64-gigabyte flash card that has a high rate of speed in addition to high capacity.  “In my mind I’ve got a vision of an image showing the capsule in one-third of the frame, with Felix dropping away and the Earth below all visible. But there’s a lot of luck involved,” Pondella says. “It’ll all come down to how the balloon and capsule happen to be positioned at that moment.”

Suit Camera System
Some of the most dynamic images will be those captured from Baumgartner’s point of view on his descent. Three small high-definition video cameras will capture three angles of his descent back to Earth. Baumgartner will activate these suit cameras himself, just before he jumps, and, like Baumgartner, they must be able to function in near-space conditions for up to 20 minutes, as well as at the extremes of supersonic speed. Furthermore, the cameras must provide useable shots regardless of Baumgartner’s orientation: Baumgartner will wear small HD video cameras with opposing views – one on each thigh – plus a camera on his chest pack that will provide a view of his helmet visor.

Luke Aikins, the Aerial Strategist for the Red Bull Stratos team, has skydived with Baumgartner on numerous test jumps, filming the descents. “We’re being careful to make sure that the suit cameras won’t affect Felix’s freefall,” Aikins reports. “After the mission is over, the team will be able to study his footage and come up with ideas to help people in future endeavors – we hope to see details like what went on with his body position, and even with the fabric, in a way that might be impossible for Felix to perceive.”

“Ultimately, from the time we seal the capsule until I set foot on Earth again, I’m going to be alone,” Baumgartner states. “But thanks to these camera systems, at least I’ll have the reassurance that the mission team should be able to monitor what’s going on visually as well as via radio, and in my mind I’ll know that people all over the world are sharing the experience with me.”

LIVE Red Bull Stratos Broadcast and Webcast
On the day of Baumgartner’s jump, Red Bull Stratos, along with web partners, will provide a LIVE television broadcast and online stream of the activities and stories surrounding his ascent and descent. The final launch date, location and live stream details will be announced in the coming weeks on www.redbullstratos.com <http://www.redbullstratos.com> , on Twitter (@RedBullStratos), and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/redbullstratos <https://www.facebook.com/redbullstratos> ).

Some Quick Facts on the Red Bull Stratos In-Flight Camera Systems

·        There’s approximately two miles of wiring in the pressurized “keg” that supports the Red Bull Stratos cameras.

·        The “crush pads” on the base of the Red Bull Stratos capsule are designed to absorb up to 8 Gs of impact to protect equipment including the camera systems – as well as Felix Baumgartner himself should an urgent situation require him to descend in the capsule.

·        A typical satellite uplink truck has one or two channels of microwave video. The Red Bull Stratos capsule has three.

·        With a combined total of 15 in-flight HD cameras, the Red Bull Stratos capsule and Felix Baumgartner’s pressure suit have more HD cameras than most 45-foot television production trucks.

·        Special filters are used on some of the Red Bull Stratos cameras because the brightness of the sun is more intense in the upper stratosphere.

·        The Red Bull Stratos camera housings are designed to withstand intense heat on the sunny side while sustaining temperatures far below freezing on the shadow side.

·        It is anticipated that some of the cameras inside the Red Bull Stratos capsule will be covered in ice when the vessel touches back down on Earth.

·        The microphones inside the Red Bull Stratos capsule will record sound only as long as there is air to carry the soundwaves. When Felix Baumgartner depressurizes the capsule (just before he jumps), those ambient microphones in the capsule will stop picking up sound. (This will not, however, affect the microphone in Baumgartner’s helmet.)

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This Red Bull Stratos Moving Images main electronics cage houses High Definition RAM recorders, Camera Control Units,
Routers, 3 Video Transmitters, Telemetry Computer, and a sophisticated electrical system to power everything.
The cage resides inside a pressurized keg located  at the top of the capsule. @FlightLine Films


Still camera and POV camera placement inside the Red Bull Stratos capsule. @FlightLine Films



Still cameras (Inside the pressurized Red Bull Stratos capsule. @FlightLine Films

Mission Background and Partner Information

About Red Bull Stratos
Red Bull Stratos is a mission to the edge of space. Pilot Felix Baumgartner will ascend to the stratosphere in an attempt to launch a freefall jump that would see him become the first person to break the speed of sound with the human body. The data captured by this mission and its team of world-leading scientists promises new standards in aerospace safety, expanding the boundaries of human flight.

About FlightLine Films
Since 1984, Las Vegas–based FlightLine Films has been providing television and motion-picture producers with the highest quality in aerospace cinematography services. The company has pioneered visual documentation systems for the private and commercial space programs advancing into the 21st century. FlightLine offers zero-gravity qualified crews and HD cameras for use in the cold vacuum of space, as well as housings that allow traditional motion picture cameras to operate in that hostile environment. FlightLine Films is designing and building the camera systems to document the Red Bull Stratos mission from multiple perspectives, including ground-based trackers, an airborne tracking system, in the capsule and on Baumgartner’s pressure suit. For more information, please visit: www.flightlinefilms.com <www.flightlinefilms.com> .

Red Bull Stratos is proud to share this mission with the following partners:

Nokia
As the official global mobile partner, Nokia has developed the Red Bull Stratos application to monitor this groundbreaking project. Available exclusively through Ovi Store by Nokia, users can learn more about the mission’s progress by reading articles and watching videos from the Red Bull Stratos team of experts. Nokia users can also follow the countdown, stream the final jump in real time and watch Felix Baumgartner’s pulse race by monitoring his biometrical data before, during and after the jump. Once complete, the app will deliver unique content about the Red Bull Stratos mission direct to handset. For more information, please visit http://www.ovi.com <http://www.ovi.com> .

Microsoft
Microsoft is the global media technology partner for Red Bull Stratos. Microsoft’s Silverlight and IIS Smooth Streaming technology bring an interactive live experience in High Definition to web viewers worldwide. To learn more, visit http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight <http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight> .

Riedel Communications
Riedel Communications – renowned for its pioneering advanced fiber, intercom and radio technology – provides the entire communications solution for this outstanding project, integrating both wireless and wired digital intercom systems. Additionally, Riedel furnishes the fiber-based video and signal distribution as well as the wireless video links to the capsule’s onboard cameras – enabling stunning pictures to be delivered from the Red Bull Stratos capsule. Please visit http://www.riedel.net <http://www.riedel.net/> .

Notes to Editors

BBC Documentary
An exclusive, all-access documentary about the Red Bull Stratos project is being produced by the BBC together with National Geographic. A few weeks after the jump in 2010, the feature-length film will premiere on BBC2 in the UK and National Geographic Channel in the US. It will be aired across the rest of the world soon after. The 90-minute documentary about Red Bull Stratos is being globally licensed and distributed to broadcasters by BBC Worldwide.

Broadcasters interested in the BBC documentary should visit www.bbcworldwide.com <http://www.bbcworldwide.com>  for more details.

About Sage Cheshire Aerospace
Sage Cheshire Aerospace, Inc., offers the best services of leading technical minds in research, advanced composite design, engineering and fabrication to find solutions for a full spectrum of aerospace needs. Sage Cheshire is designing, building and testing the Red Bull Stratos pressurized capsule. The company also coordinates other vital aspects of the mission, from creating computer fluid dynamics to selecting crews and interfacing with outside agencies. For more information, please visit: www.sagecheshire.com <www.sagecheshire.com> .

For hi-res images, B-roll, web videos and additional press materials throughout the project, please visit: www.redbullstratos.com/newsroom <http://www.redbullstratos.com/newsroom> .

Red Bull Stratos content, as well as other Red Bull productions, can also be accessed at: www.redbullcontentpool.com <http://www.redbullcontentpool.com> .

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Felix Baumgartner with Neil Armstrong & other Space Pioneers

Aug6th
2010
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ON NEIL ARMSTRONG’S 80th BIRTHDAY, FELIX BAUMGARTNER JOINS ASTRONAUT FOR RARE TELEVISION INTERVIEW
Panel of legendary space explorers offers encouragement to Red Bull Stratos Pilot as he prepares to become the first to break the speed of sound in freefall.

Salzburg, Austria – August 6, 2010 – On Thursday, August 5, a historic television broadcast on ServusTV documented the meeting of Red Bull Stratos Pilot Felix Baumgartner with aerospace legend Neil Armstrong, the American who was the first man to walk on the moon. The appearance was one of Armstrong’s first television interviews in four decades and coincided with the date of his 80th birthday.

Also joining the conversation were pioneering aviators Alexei Leonov, the Russian who was the first to man to walk in space, and Thomas Reiter, who took part in the European Space Agency’s longest manned space mission and was the first German to conduct a space walk. The groundbreaking legends of aerospace offered encouragement to Baumgartner as he prepares to attempt an aerospace breakthrough of his own: to become the first person to break the speed of sound in freefall.

In acknowledging Baumgartner, Leonov, and Reiter, Armstrong noted, “I find it interesting that we have four fliers here, all of which are better known for getting out of something than for flying it… We can’t all stay inside flying machines!”

It’s a point that’s well taken by Baumgartner, because a primary objective of his Red Bull Stratos freefall attempt from 120,000 feet above Earth is to provide data and protocols that may help to pave the way for high-altitude bailout, particularly in capturing new research information by attaining supersonic speeds.

On that subject, Armstrong commented, “Before the middle of the 1940s many distinguished engineers believed it was not possible to go supersonic. They thought the craft would disintegrate, which was complete nonsense.”

He continued, “I think a human can go supersonic; I believe that’s true. There are possible difficulties. I’m not sure they’ll exhibit themselves until you are fast enough, or in dense enough air that you start to create shockwaves. And when shockwaves influence your ability to stabilize yourself, that’s a difficult area to predict. But I think it’s possible.”

After the program, Baumgartner said, “This has been an honor. These men are heroes in every sense of the word, and to hear their stories and receive their encouragement firsthand is inspiring. I’m determined that our Red Bull Stratos mission will honor their legacy by making new contributions.”

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