5 about 1800 kmh still twenty seconds after

Projects of commercial flights on the Earth's orbit just open a new scientific competition: free fall record held since 1960 by Captain Joseph Kittinger to 31.300 metres above sea level. Michel Fournier, a French works on this crazy project for 20 years to assess the conditions for the evacuation of cosmonauts from the strato-s-hemisphere distress. He has since just a competitor, the Austrian Felix Baumgartner, with considerable means: Red Bull energy drinks manufacturer has promised to do everything possible to succeed this challenge.

Expected accomplishment goes beyond simple record hunt. "It penetrates even exploratory field than the apnéistes of post-war, explains Jonathan Clark, medical officer of the Austrian mission." It was thought at the time that the rib cage imploserait the pressure beyond 50 meters. Since then, experience has shown that humans can venture without bottles more than 210 metres deep.

By opening his cabin pressurized on the vacuum, Felix Baumgartner will discover the planet as the contemplate the astronauts through the porthole of the orbital station: a curved horizon, a deep blue on a background of space infinity. Thirty seconds later, it will pass the sound barrier, and Mach 1.5 (about 1,800 km/h) still twenty seconds after. It will cross then cold layers (including the tropopause, at-90 C), before sufficiently slowed by the density of air (490 g/m3à 9,000 metres against 1.8 g/m3à 36 km). The opening of the parachute is scheduled at 600 metres above the ground, after 7 minutes of fall.

200 collected parameters

Red Bull Stratos team will take advantage of the advances already achieved by that great jumping, Michel Fournier concurrent mission, whose sponsors have already invested almost EUR 12 million to raise several scientific and technical locks. Sent in recognition, a mannequin armed with sensors for example demonstrated "safety" of the physical constraints linked to the passage of the wall of sound, prerequisite adventure. The preparatory phase has also raised many other questions. "The great leap must bring us a better understanding of the physiological adaptability of human in extreme conditions", summarizes the Professor Paul Vanuxem, Scientific Director of the project and Chief of the laboratory of respiratory Physiology at the Sainte-Marguerite hospital in Marseille.

More than 200 flight parameters, technical and medical, must be recorded during the jump. The collection of the data concerned several disciplines: the hypobarie, cryogenics, the kinetics of the high speeds, or the cardiovascular microgravity, sensorineural and psychological... What consequences will be for example, the body of an astronaut in distress, the sharp drop in atmospheric pressure and its rapid return to normal

For the medicine hyperbaric is also the opportunity to deepen existing knowledge: box, Michel Fournier has already demonstrated that it could breathe oxygen clean for ten hours then that it was believed that after three hours, the lungs suffered irreversible damage. Jumper in 7,300 for more than 6 hours to remove his body 90 of the nitrogen decompression in diving accidents responsible for gas.

"Expected of these 7 minutes that scientists who had followed the first deep apnea of Jacques Mayol", compares a specialist of the Comex, where the subwoofer tests were held.

Postponed on two occasions, Grand jump hope to achieve a new attempt this year if it finds the necessary sponsors. Red Bull, he has not announced a date. The weather window is narrow: above Western identified as one of the most favourable launch sites, the troposphere has a brief lull before and after the summer setting aside for a few days the powerful jet-streams are blowing usually at speeds exceeding sometimes 600 km/h.