Latest news with #stratosphere
BBC News
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Blackpool theme park to broadcast personal messages from space
Members of the public are being urged to take part in a project which will see their personal messages broadcast from space on a specially designed digital screen.A dedicated recording booth is being set up at Blackpool Pleasure Beach on 11 August for anyone who wants to submit " something meaningful, heartfelt or hilarious". Using a hydrogen-filled high-altitude balloon, the messages will then be launched into the stratosphere - about 33.5km (110,000ft) above the Earth's surface - on 15 August, or the following week, depending on weather idea has been inspired by Launch Pad, a new space-themed ride, which opened this year at the Blackpool amusement park. 'Big reveals' The team at the theme park are looking for submissions from people of all ages, and hope to include "dedications and secrets, to big reveals, or even just funny one-liners". "This is about giving people the chance to say something meaningful, heartfelt or hilarious - and knowing that, even for a moment, your voice made it all the way to space," said Pleasure Beach boss Amanda to 8 August, people can also submit a short video or written message, a spokesman said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
CBC
19-07-2025
- CBC
Skydiver Felix Baumgartner dies in paragliding crash at 56
Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian skydiver known for his 2012 supersonic jump from the stratosphere, died in a paragliding crash in Italy. He was 56. Local reports say he lost control mid-air and crashed near a hotel pool.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Daredevil legend 'Fearless Felix' Baumgartner dies in paragliding accident at 56
Felix Baumgartner lived to leap, becoming the first person to fall faster than the speed of sound during a 24-mile skydiving adventure through the stratosphere in 2012. On Thursday, the Austrian daredevil died at age 56 while engaged in a far less intense activity, crashing into the side of a hotel swimming pool while paragliding in Porto Sant Elpidio, a town on central Italy's eastern coast. According to Sky Austria, he became ill before the crash. A hotel employee was hospitalized after sustaining injuries in the accident, the report stated. "Our community is deeply affected by the tragic disappearance of Felix Baumgartner, a figure of global prominence, a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flight," Porto Sant Elpidio Mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella said on Facebook. The man known as "Fearless Felix" made history 13 years ago when he parachuted down to a landing near Roswell, N.M., after being lifted 24 miles above Earth into the stratosphere in a capsule carried by a helium balloon. He set a record for fastest free fall, descending 127,852 feet at 843.6 mph and becoming the first human to break the sound barrier without the assistance of a vehicle. Read more: Watch skydiver Felix Baumgartner break speed of sound As he exited his capsule and jumped into air that was 70 degrees below zero, Baumgartner gave a thumbs-up to onlookers watching a livestream online. He activated his parachute as he neared the ground. 'When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about breaking records anymore, you do not think of about gaining scientific data. The only thing you want is to come back alive,' he said after landing safely. 'Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are." Baumgartner's altitude record stood for two years until Google executive Alan Eustace set new marks for the highest free-fall jump and greatest free-fall distance. A former Austrian military parachutist, Baumgartner made numerous jumps from airplanes, skyscrapers and bridges. He also leaped from famed landmarks, including the Christ the Redeemer statue at the summit of Mount Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Read more: Daredevil breaks world record with highest fall He once flew across the English Channel in a carbon fiber wing after being dropped from a plane. The daredevil also performed as a helicopter stunt pilot in shows across Europe. Baumgartner died while engaged in a more prosaic activity. Paragliders are lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched aircraft primarily used for recreation. The pilot sits suspended below a fabric wing. In a statement to Fox News Digital, a representative for Baumgartner's longtime sponsor Red Bull said, "We are shocked and overwhelmed with sadness to hear the devastating news of our longtime friend Felix Baumgartner. "Felix was 'born to fly' and was determined to push the limits. He was also smart, professional, thorough and meticulous, never leaving anything to chance. He was generous, giving much of his time to help and inspiring so many people. "We remember Felix as a lovely person, devoted to his family and friends, to whom we send our heartfelt sympathy. Felix, you will be deeply missed." Read more: Fall 24 miles to Earth with Felix Baumgartner in new space-jump video In an interview with Red Bull years ago, Baumgartner addressed his meticulous preparation before taking flight. "We had a very long list of 'what ifs,' in other words eventualities that could happen and how we would deal with them in an emergency," he said. "The list kept getting longer and longer. I was only afraid of the things that were not on the list, the things we had not thought of. To this day, I abort missions if the conditions are not right." Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Times
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Felix Baumgartner obituary: daredevil adventurer
On October 14, 2012, Felix Baumgartner took one small step and began falling from the fringes of space to Earth. Jumping from 128,000ft up, he hurtled downwards for more than four minutes before deploying his parachute, reaching a speed of 843mph — Mach 1.25. Sixty-five years to the day since Chuck Yeager had first broken the sound barrier in an aircraft, the Austrian skydiver became the first person to go supersonic without the aid of a vehicle. Baumgartner, who had 'Born to Fly' tattooed on his forearm, was always clear the whole death-defying enterprise was essentially a stunt, rather than undertaken to further science. It was sponsored — at a cost of £20 million — by Red Bull, the drinks company that had associated itself with extreme sports. Nevertheless, the feat required four years of planning, for the dangers were very real. The aim was to better the free-fall record of 102,800ft established in 1960, at the start of the Space Age, by a US test pilot, Joe Kittinger. Fifty years on, he agreed to mentor Baumgartner, who would ascend 24 miles up into the stratosphere in a capsule attached to a helium-filled balloon 50 storeys high, its skin thinner than a sandwich wrapper. • Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner dies in paramotor accident To survive the conditions, Baumgartner would have to wear a specially pressurised suit. Keen on publicity and emotionally volatile, he coped with being told that if something went wrong his blood could boil — the 'good news' was it would only take him 15 seconds to die — but found the suit claustrophobic. For six months he quit the project. Only film of his replacement wearing the suit spurred him into returning. Bad weather at the launch site of the Roswell air base, New Mexico, scotched the initial date. Five days later, however, the sky was clear. For the first time in his career, Baumgartner's parents had come to watch him jump. He said his greatest fear was dying in front of his family. During the ascent, Baumgartner felt he was developing a problem with his visor. All his mother, Ava, could do was silently pray. The issue was resolved and his worry that the capsule door would have frozen solid also proved unfounded. Standing 99,000ft higher than Everest, Baumgartner, whose childhood hero had been Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, slowly shuffled forward. 'I'm coming home,' he said. Watched by a live YouTube audience of eight million, Baumgartner fell. The greatest danger was he might begin to spin uncontrollably, forcing all his blood into his skull and out through his eyeballs. To the horror of his team on the ground, he did indeed begin to revolve — there was a 20-second delay on the public feed in case of tragedy — but despite his terror he managed to stabilise himself. Over New Mexico, a sonic boom was heard. When he was 5,000ft from the ground, Baumgartner opened his parachute and made a perfect landing. His mother wept with relief. 'Fearless Felix' had broken three records: the highest manned balloon flight; the highest altitude from which a man had free-fallen; and the first supersonic free-fall. Two years later, a computer scientist working for Google, Alan Eustace, jumped from a higher altitude of almost 26 miles, although he used a drogue parachute to control his descent, so Baumgartner's speed record still stands. Yet he was never tempted to try to regain his other mark. 'Of course I wouldn't do it again!' he said. 'Just because it's worked once, doesn't mean it would work again. I'll leave it to the next generation.' Felix Baumgartner was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1969. His father, also Felix, was a carpenter and later sold furniture. His son characterised him as a cautious person who did not encourage his two boys to take risks. Gerard, Felix's brother, became a chef. The family lived next to the Russian consulate and Felix's first exploit was to dig a tunnel through to its garden so he could play on the swings there; he had excavated about 5ft before he was discovered. As long as he could recall, however, his dream was to fly. He only had to see a tree and he would climb its highest branch. School was not for him and he left at 16. His father had a friend who was a skydiver, and reluctantly his parents gave Felix parachute lessons as a birthday present. He made his first jump at 17. The main chute failed to open — he never found out why — but his reserve deployed after seven rather tense seconds. While doing National Service in the Austrian army, initially as a tank driver, Baumgartner learnt it had a parachute display team and he subsequently spent five years with them. After leaving the military he supported himself as a car mechanic, while determined to become a professional skydiver. The obstacles to this, as a potential spectator sport, were that most of the action takes place out of sight, up in the air, and is largely hazard free. Baumgartner found the solution in the novel (and often prohibited) sport of base jumping, or parachuting at dangerously low heights from a fixed object such as a bridge. In 1999, he leapt from what was then the world's tallest building, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. He also made what he claimed to be the world's lowest base jump, of about 90ft, from the hand of the statue of Christ the Redeemer that overlooks Rio de Janeiro. These stunts brought him to the notice of Red Bull, which was based near Salzburg. Money was still tight, however. Lacking access to a wind tunnel, Baumgartner trained for his attempt to be the first person to skydive across the English Channel by tying himself to the roof of a speeding Porsche 911. In 2003, with a carbon-fibre wing strapped to his back, he jumped out of an aircraft 30,000ft above Dover, and landed near Calais 14 minutes later. After the leap that made him famous, Baumgartner kept to his promise to renounce daredevilry. He had said that he might concentrate on raising adventurous children of his own, although in the event he did not have any, nor was he married. He is survived by his long-term partner, Mihaela Radulescu, a Romanian television presenter. Although he did take part in the 24-hour road race at the Nürburgring in 2014, he concentrated on flying helicopters, both acrobatically and to help rescue people. He became known in Austria as well for his endorsement of populist political figures — he proposed that Hungary's premier, Viktor Orban, be awarded a Nobel prize — and for speaking out against immigration. In 2012 he was fined €1,500 for slapping a Greek truck driver during a road-rage argument. After falling out with the tax authorities, he left Austria for Switzerland. Like many who have gazed down on the Earth from above, Baumgartner's experience had made him conscious of its fragility. 'A lot of people talk about going to Mars,' he reflected. 'It doesn't make sense … We've already done a lot of damage here; we should take care of our own world.' Felix Baumgartner, record-breaking skydiver, was born on April 20, 1969. He reportedly died of a heart attack while paragliding on July 17, 2025, aged 56
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Felix Baumgartner, Record-Breaking Skydiver, Dies in Paragliding Crash
Felix Baumgartner, famed for his record-breaking jump from the stratosphere, tragically died in a paragliding crash in Italy on Thursday.
