New HD Footage of the most awesome skydive ever.

February 1, 2014 1:55 PM

you have seen the rest, here is the best Felix Baumgartner jumped from really (24-miles) high up . This new footage will make your skin crawl.
posted by shockingbluamp (49 comments total)

That's pretty amazing.... I won't spoil it with the speed he reaches.... hang onto your seat....
posted by HuronBob at 2:06 PM on February 1, 2014

I like it when it's over.
posted by chavenet at 2:12 PM on February 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Can I just get Joe Kittinger to follow me around and be supportive?
posted by griphus at 2:20 PM on February 1, 2014 [33 favorites]

It's interesting that the part where he spins out of control is the fastest part of the drop, but then he comes out of the spin as the speed falls off. I guess this is a function of the atmosphere getting thicker as he drops? I wonder then if it was predictable that he would basically have no way to control things between X and Y altitudes, and the only plan was just to try to not pass out for that stretch?

Also, I suppose if he has passed out completely - they could have probably deployed his chute remotely? Or does that not work because you need to be awake to steer, etc?
posted by Mid at 2:20 PM on February 1, 2014

I think he was actively fighting against the spin- it seems to me that if he had blacked out it might have turned into a terminal spin and could have given him brain damage.
posted by stinkfoot at 2:37 PM on February 1, 2014

This man jumped from space and landed on his feet. My brain is having a really hard time with that.
posted by selfnoise at 2:47 PM on February 1, 2014 [26 favorites]

They cut a lot of the jump out. I wonder how long it took for the whole thing?
posted by double block and bleed at 2:55 PM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Also, I suppose if he has passed out completely - they could have probably deployed his chute remotely? Or does that not work because you need to be awake to steer, etc?

I don't know about that particular rig but in general a parachute doesn't need a concious person to land it. You'd be risking a couple of broken ankles/legs, but you'd get down alive.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 2:58 PM on February 1, 2014

about 15 mins
posted by shockingbluamp at 3:03 PM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

So this was sold to GoPro after the jump, and they are just now releasing it? That's bullshit, and I wish that every time I try to pay attention to this event, I wasn't also being hit over the head with marketing.
posted by Brocktoon at 3:18 PM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

HE DID NOT JUMP FROM SPACE.

Idiot rolling news.

39KM while stupendously awesome is not even halfway to the lowest definition of where space begins.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 3:22 PM on February 1, 2014 [5 favorites]

I don't know about that particular rig but in general a parachute doesn't need a concious person to land it.

Funny you should mention that.
posted by Rangeboy at 3:24 PM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

So, was there a contingency plan in case he just could not bring himself to jump? Cause I would not have been able to bring myself to jump. Or was jumping the only way down?
posted by crush-onastick at 3:34 PM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I can understand why they went with fisheye lenses but the effect is annoying because you want to see _what_it_was_like_ rather than an wide-POV version that exaggerates the curvature of the earth. What does the horizon really look like at 24 miles altitude - can anyone find any straight-lens pics of that?
posted by memebake at 3:43 PM on February 1, 2014 [11 favorites]

So, was there a contingency plan in case he just could not bring himself to jump?

Yeah, they don't show the previous 45 minutes of Joe Kittinger coaxing and needling Felix into going through with the jump.
posted by Flashman at 4:13 PM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Yeah, they make a lot of cuts -- the biggest being between 37K and 17K' . Presumably this was at the behest of the Red Bull people who were probably watching it going "come on come on come ON come ON COMEONWHATISTAKINGSOLONGJESUSIVEBEENSITTINGHEREFORTWOMINUTESFORGODSAKEHURRYITUP!!!!"
posted by George_Spiggott at 4:19 PM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Every time I watch that, my palms are sweating, my heart rate goes up and I'm left clinging to my bed. I'd still do it in a heart beat but would likely need Joe to be assumed with a remote cattle proud.
posted by arcticseal at 4:28 PM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

When they first made it clear that they were actually going to do the jump - I remember being mad about it, until they said the Colonel Joe was going to be part of the jump and on the comms. That made it all right in my book, but that's because Joe is awesome.
posted by drewbage1847 at 4:31 PM on February 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

I suppose theoretically I could do this, but for the sake of the suit we'd need the full pre-colonoscopy treatment.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:31 PM on February 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

Idiot rolling news.

Was there any need for that?
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 4:32 PM on February 1, 2014 [7 favorites]

"So this was sold to GoPro after the jump, and they are just now releasing it? That's bullshit, and I wish that every time I try to pay attention to this event, I wasn't also being hit over the head with marketing."

I keep trying to figure out what the hate is about GoPro. They make a product, they market it by showing neat uses of the product, which they probably underwrite in a lot of cases, and the response is so often... "Oh my, how terrible, there's product promotion in that video.....!!!!!!"

So?
posted by HuronBob at 4:34 PM on February 1, 2014 [13 favorites]

I wish that every time I try to pay attention to this event, I wasn't also being hit over the head with marketing.

This "event" only exists because of marketing. The companies involved worked with awesome people to make something amazing happen, and that was great, but it wouldn't have happened if Red Bull et al. didn't want us to associate their brands with amazing things.
posted by sparklemotion at 4:47 PM on February 1, 2014 [11 favorites]

So what happens to that balloon and the capsule full of gear he rode up in? Presumably they track where it comes down, and it doesn't end up falling through the windshield of a car going down the freeway or into a playground where it squishes some adorable moppet of above-average academic and artistic potential.
posted by George_Spiggott at 4:53 PM on February 1, 2014

My favorite part is when he doesn't pass out as he's plummeting towards the earth in an uncontrolled spin at mach one, because sometimes I feel like taking a knee when I stand up too quick, so I totally get it.

Also, some of y'all must be great at funerals.
posted by Divine_Wino at 5:19 PM on February 1, 2014 [8 favorites]

According to the longer video, the capsule was later separated remotely from the balloon and came down on a parachute of its own.
posted by double block and bleed at 5:21 PM on February 1, 2014

Anybody getting thirsty? I have a hankerin' for some taurine.

I was about to ask who the music was, it sounded like God is an Astronaut, then I thought - dummy, they usually have credits, so I looked, apparently it's East of the River.
posted by symbioid at 5:40 PM on February 1, 2014

I keep trying to figure out what the hate is about GoPro. They make a product, they market it by showing neat uses of the product, which they probably underwrite in a lot of cases, and the response is so often... "Oh my, how terrible, there's product promotion in that video.....!!!!!!"

So?

I could care less if it's GoPro or Gogurt. GoPro is a cool product. But this video was made over a year ago, and was held back for marketing reasons. That sucks.
posted by Brocktoon at 5:57 PM on February 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Brocktoon: " I could care less if it's GoPro or Gogurt. GoPro is a cool product. But this video was made over a year ago, and was held back for marketing reasons. That sucks."

The video exists because of marketing. The event existed because of marketing. I'm no fan of what a lot of companies do to make a buck, but when you go out and create something, you have every right to dictate the terms of its release to the public.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:00 PM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

So this was sold to GoPro after the jump, and they are just now releasing it? That's bullshit, and I wish that every time I try to pay attention to this event, I wasn't also being hit over the head with marketing.

It's odd that they sold it, since stomach churning pretty accurately represents the experience of drinking a can of red bull.
posted by cacofonie at 6:36 PM on February 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

I think Red Bull paid for the whole thing, so they owned all the byproducts including the videos. It probably took until now for GoPro to negotiate rights. While their cameras were used I don't think they were actually partners in the stunt, it's just that their products happened to be used. Of course they would want to leverage that for marketing purposes but it wasn't their deal, and the folks who paid for it probably wanted a taste for the rights.
posted by localroger at 7:13 PM on February 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

I wish that every time I try to pay attention to this event, I wasn't also being hit over the head with marketing.

I also wish strangers would go to great expense and take great risks just to entertain me, with nothing in it for them.
posted by John Cohen at 7:30 PM on February 1, 2014 [8 favorites]

but when you go out and create something, you have every right to dictate the terms of its release to the public.

You have the right to do many things in life, but that doesn't mean they're not annoying.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:31 PM on February 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Well, I'm a big cynic, but unless the whole entire thing was photoshopped, this was awesome and Felix is awesome.

Stepping off that step... my officemate said "Oh, I'd do it", but that rates a big ol' "Yeah right" until I see her casually hopping off a stoop 23 miles off the ground.
posted by ftm at 7:55 PM on February 1, 2014

I loved this. I loved the set up, I loved the awe, I loved the post-production and the music, the tense feeling I had, even tho I knew the guy survived, when he was spinning to his possible doom. I loved the cheesy line about how amazing it was to be up there because I know if I was in his place that's exactly what I would say.

And then I would stay up there clinging to the podule and just gaze upon you like a God.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 8:05 PM on February 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Totally photoshopped. Here's the original unedited version.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:16 PM on February 1, 2014 [13 favorites]

He did not jump from space

Are you a man or a MOOSE? General Electric's proposed one-man orbital bailout system (PDF brochure, November 1966).
posted by cenoxo at 8:19 PM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

This is (still, months of trailer marketing later) awesome...but Red Bull will always and forever be undrinkable carcinogenic swill, clearly the precursor to Brawndo. I do enjoy their extreme marketing gimmicks, but wonder who it is that can stomach more than a can a month (drunkenly, mixed with vodka, never straight. Never. Straight.) of their product without rushing to the ER for a stomach pump and 24 hours of IV fluids.

GoPro is cool though. Tiny indestructible cameras with amazing HD picture quality under $500? If you can't get behind that, you weren't cut out to live in a capitalist society.
posted by T.D. Strange at 8:33 PM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

You have the right to do many things in life, but that doesn't mean they're not annoying.

Of course that's true, but the point here is that if not for those "annoying" things in this case, you wouldn't be seeing this skydive thing at all. I'm annoyed by ads all the time, but how much can I complain if the ads make it possible for me to watch stuff that I want to watch for free?
posted by John Cohen at 9:20 PM on February 1, 2014

Yeah, I mean the "GoPro cameras INITIALIZING" graphics are a bit over the top, but what do you want? Were you going to pony up $25 2 years ago in the hopes that this might get enough money to build the rig, suit, pay the salaries of the team, purchase insurance, etc? Unless you envision a 'kickstarter' economy as the only legitimate way to fund projects, then hey, advertising a video camera and energy drink is the necessary evil that allows us to watch some crazy guy jump out of a balloon 40km up.

It's not the kind of thing I think most people would say ought to be tax-dollar funded...
posted by modernnomad at 9:37 PM on February 1, 2014

So, what is everyone clapping about right before he comes out of the spin? Or was the audio just poorly synced?
posted by ckape at 11:18 PM on February 1, 2014

ckape, you hear them paying attention to his telemetry: "He's slowing, he's slowing, he's got it!" Essentially he was conscious enough to act to stabilize his descent posture. He didn't need to completely stop spinning for that to be obvious.
posted by dhartung at 11:56 PM on February 1, 2014

the "GoPro cameras INITIALIZING" graphics are a bit over the top,

Those graphics made things look a lot like Europa Report. But no one saw Europa Report, so I think they got away with it.

Having the Darth Vader breathing nearly made me close the video though. So cheesy. I almost expected to hear the Wilhelm Scream when he stepped off.
posted by WhackyparseThis at 3:48 AM on February 2, 2014

I found the music mawkish and unnecessary.
posted by anothermug at 8:39 AM on February 2, 2014

Other than that, it was awesome BTW.
posted by anothermug at 8:39 AM on February 2, 2014

Next time somebody innocently asks me how I'm doing, I'm going to reply: "I've been in a violent spin for a long time now, I feel like I need to pass out."
posted by crazy_yeti at 9:07 AM on February 2, 2014 [6 favorites]

At least, GoPro should have checked that the faux initialization screen didn't sport any errors or a firmware release date a year after the jump.
posted by Gyan at 9:38 AM on February 2, 2014

Of course that's true, but the point here is that if not for those "annoying" things in this case, you wouldn't be seeing this skydive thing at all. I'm annoyed by ads all the time, but how much can I complain if the ads make it possible for me to watch stuff that I want to watch for free?

I'm with ya, same thing happened with Joseph Kittinger and Geritol.
posted by Brocktoon at 12:07 PM on February 2, 2014

Made for a nice Super Bowl commercial though.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:39 AM on February 3, 2014

Previously.
posted by homunculus at 5:27 PM on February 15, 2014