Paratroopers generally find 3.8 km altitude ideal. But Felix Baumgartner, who wanted to break the record in 2012, went to the stratosphere border, to an altitude of 39 thousand km, for the world record he called the space jump. Then, in 2014, Alan Eustace set the record by jumping from 41 km. Can this skydiving record be broken? For example, what happens to an astronaut who jumps off the International Space Station?
Is it possible to skydive from the International Space Station?
Before parachuting from the International Space Station, special clothing will be needed. Even the record holder, Felix Baumgartner, had to wear a similar special outfit, even though he didn’t go out of the atmosphere. This time the outfit has to be much more complicated. But it can be done.
But even assuming that the appropriate outfit is made, we would still be looking at the impossible. Because even if we come to the edge of the ISS and jump towards the Earth, we cannot land properly. In fact, it may take 2.5 years for us to reach the earth. So why?
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Height isn’t the reason why the fall takes so long. Because even if it is jumped from this high, it should take 2.5 hours at most. But we cannot jump directly to Earth, even if we wanted to. We’d just be changing our axis of motion in orbit.
Although the International Space Station seems like a stable place outside the atmosphere, it actually orbits the Earth at a speed of 28,164 km/h. In other words, it moves 10-12 faster than even the fastest fighter plane.
In fact, if a person on the ground fires a bullet at this speed with a gun, the bullet can make a full circle on the Earth’s axis without falling to the ground, unless there is an obstacle in front of it. Similarly, the ISS can stay in orbit thanks to this high speed.
But although it is hard to feel, it will fall to the ground in a few years if the propellant engines that keep it back into orbit fail because it is constantly exposed to a gravitational force. Therefore, the person who wants to jump towards the Earth to make a parachute jump from the ISS is also spinning at the same speed in orbit, so all he has to do is speed up the process a little.
Even if we hypothetically think that this special garment can feed a person for 2.5 years, it would still be a miracle to come down to earth. The reason for this is space junk, which will become the biggest problem of space and aviation in the coming years.
There are currently more than 13 thousand countable, tens of thousands of uncountable satellites and meteorites in Earth orbit, even smaller than a few inches in size. Moreover, their speed can be much higher.
Also, if it comes in the opposite direction, it will pierce even if you have a nuclear explosion-proof steel shield. Therefore, statistically, it will be inevitable to be exposed to a few of them within 2.5 years.
Considering that somehow this step has been overcome, there are still some obstacles before us. And that’s slowing down after re-entering the atmosphere. Considering that we feel 8G power over us and that the fall towards the Earth at hypersonic speed has begun, we can say that it will shatter as soon as we open the parachute.
Also, if we’re falling with our feet down, it’s likely that all the blood in our body will put pressure on our brains. While a trained fighter pilot can handle this, many will pass out instantly.
The last problem will be temperature. Normally, we should freeze at -80 degrees at this altitude, but since we move approximately 8 times the speed of sound, we will feel a heat of 1,650 degrees (enough to melt iron) due to the friction between the atmosphere -air molecules – and our clothing. However, if you can reach a height of 41 km by overcoming all obstacles, you can open a parachute and land on the ground.
What do you think about this subject? Do you think the skydiving record can be broken once again?