News: Skydiving Legend Attempts The Highest Parachute Jump
Posted by Matthew Justice on Apr 28, 2008
Michel Fournier a retired French army parachutist has spent loads of time and money on chasing the world record for highest parachute jump. Fournier is trying to break the existing record of 102,800 feet currently held by Joseph Kittinger from August 16, 1960. Fournier has attempted the jump several times, only to be foiled by last-minute problems.
The jump would not only be the highest ever, it would also propel Fournier into the record books at the highest and fastest parachute speed of 1.3 times the speed of sound. He would also earn the record for breaking the highest air balloon flight. He has currently scheduled to do the jump on May 25th over the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
He is planning to board a pressurized capsule that is attached to a 525-foot helium balloon; as he rises, the pressure will be reduced so he'll be able to open the hatch and jump from the capsule.
Source Non-Mobile: http://www.popsci.com/military-aviation-space/...
Related Website Non-Mobile: http://legrandsaut.org/...
Tags: Events, Space
Technorati Tags: Events, Space