Space diving facts for kids
Space diving is like a super high-altitude skydive! It's when someone jumps from an aircraft or special balloon very, very high up, near the edge of space, and falls back towards Earth. The "edge of space" is often considered to be around 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) above sea level. This imaginary line is called the Kármán line. This definition is accepted by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which sets international standards for air and space records. The United States Air Force uses a slightly different height, 50 nautical miles (about 92.6 kilometers or 300,000 feet), to award astronaut wings.
So far, no one has successfully jumped from actual space (above 100 km). But many brave people have made incredible jumps from the very top of Earth's atmosphere, setting amazing records.
Some of the most famous jumpers include Joseph Kittinger, who set a long-standing record in 1960. Later, Felix Baumgartner and Alan Eustace broke new records for the highest and longest free falls. However, Joseph Kittinger still holds the record for the longest time spent falling freely through the air!
Contents
A Look Back: History of High Jumps
Early Stratospheric Jumps
The first big jump from the stratosphere (a high layer of Earth's atmosphere) happened in 1959. Joseph Kittinger, a brave pilot and retired Colonel in the United States Air Force, jumped from a high-altitude balloon. He was part of a project called Project Excelsior. This project studied what happens to pilots if they have to eject from planes at very high altitudes. In 1960, Kittinger made an even more incredible jump from a height greater than 31 kilometres (101,706 ft) (about 102,800 feet)! He set records for the highest, longest-distance, and longest-duration skydive at that time.
On November 1, 1962, Yevgeni Nikolayevich Andreyev from the Soviet Union also made a remarkable jump. He leaped from a capsule at 83,523 feet (25 km) (about 25.4 kilometers) and free fell 80,380 feet (24 km) (about 24.5 kilometers) before successfully deploying his parachute. Another person, Pyotr Dolgov, was also part of this mission, testing special equipment. While exiting the capsule, he encountered a critical issue with his suit.
In the mid-1960s, Nick Piantanida tried to make even higher jumps. However, he faced serious equipment problems during his attempts. During his last try, his oxygen mask had a critical failure, which led to a tragic outcome.
New Records in the 21st Century
In the early 1990s, Joseph Kittinger helped NASA with a project to break his own record, working with a British soldier named Charles "Nish" Bruce. However, this project was stopped in 1994.
Later, in 1997, a parachutist named Cheryl Stearns planned to become the first woman to break Kittinger's record. Her project, called Stratoquest, didn't happen due to an injury and funding issues. By the time she was ready, new records had already been set.
On October 14, 2012, Felix Baumgartner made a historic jump as part of the Red Bull Stratos project. He leaped from an amazing height of over 128,000 ft (39 km) (about 39 kilometers)! This jump broke Kittinger's record for the highest altitude and Andreyev's record for the longest free fall distance.
Just two years later, on October 24, 2014, Alan Eustace set the current world record for the highest and longest-distance free fall jump. He jumped from an incredible 135,908 feet (41 km) (about 41.4 kilometers) and remained in free fall for 123,334 feet (38 km) (about 37.6 kilometers). Even with these new records, Joseph Kittinger's 1960 jump still holds the record for the longest time spent in free fall, which was 4 minutes and 36 seconds.
The Big Challenges of Space Diving
Jumping from near space is incredibly difficult and dangerous! There are many technical challenges to make sure a space dive is safe.
- Thin Air: The air at these extreme heights is very thin. This means there's not much air to slow you down, so you fall very, very fast!
- Special Suits: Jumpers need special pressure suits to protect them from the extremely cold temperatures and the lack of air pressure. Without these suits, a person could not survive.
- Parachutes: The parachutes used for these jumps must be extra strong and designed to work in very thin air, then slow the jumper down as the air gets thicker closer to Earth.
- Re-entry Heat: If someone were to jump from actual orbit (much higher than these record jumps), they would face extreme heat as they entered Earth's atmosphere, similar to a spacecraft. This is a huge challenge.
NASA has thought about space diving as a possible emergency plan for astronauts in space, but it's still just an idea because of how difficult and risky it would be.
Explore More
Famous Jumpers and Projects
- Yevgeni Nikolayevich Andreyev
- Cheryl Stearns, who planned the Stratoquest project
- Steve Truglia, who planned the Space Jump project
- Michel Fournier, known for his "Le Grand Saut" attempts
- Nick Piantanida, who made several high-altitude attempts
- Olav Zipser, involved with the Free Fly Astronaut Project
- Charles "Nish" Bruce
- Victor Prather
- Project Excelsior, Joseph Kittinger's project
- Red Bull Stratos, Felix Baumgartner's project
Space Diving Records
Here's a table showing some of the highest space dive records:
| Highest Space Dive Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Altitude | Set by | Date |
| 23.287 kilometres (76,400 ft) |  Joseph Kittinger |
16 November 1959 |
| 25.458 kilometres (83,520 ft) |  Yevgeni Andreyev |
1 November 1962 |
| 31.333 kilometres (102,800 ft) | Joseph Kittinger |
16 August 1960 |
| 38.969 kilometres (127,850 ft) |  Felix Baumgartner |
14 October 2012 |
| 41.419 kilometres (135,890 ft) | Alan Eustace |
24 October 2014 |
Space Diving in Stories and Movies
Space diving has also appeared in many science fiction stories and films!
- Dark Star (1974 film)
- Star Trek: Generations (1994 film, in a deleted scene)
- Star Trek: Voyager (1998, in the episode "Extreme Risk")
- Star Trek (2009 film)
- Ad Astra (2019 film)
See also
In Spanish: Salto estratosférico para niños
