Supersonic skydive from 120,000 feet

[bananas]

4. He'll be subsonic when the chute opens

http://www.redbullstratos.com/technology/parachute/

DROGUE STABILIZATION CHUTE AND G METER

The drogue stabilization chute and G meter offer breakthrough skydiving technology. This is the first personal drogue equipment ever designed for supersonic deployment, and it's the first ever designed to function completely independently of the main and reserve parachutes.

If Felix becomes unstable, he may need the drogue chute to keep from spinning uncontrollably. However, in his quest to break the sound barrier, he doesn't want to deploy a drogue unless absolutely necessary, as it could slow him down. The solution: If Felix experiences 3.5 Gs or more for a continuous period of 6 seconds, a G meter will open the drogue stabilization chute automatically.

A drogue deployment button will also be available on Felix's glove. If he holds down this button for three seconds, the drogue stabilization chute will fire.


PARACHUTES

If all goes as Felix envisions, the main parachute is the only parachute in his rig that will be deployed. This nine-cell, ram-air, 270-square-foot/25-square-meter canopy will not open automatically. It is expected that Felix will pull the handle to deploy it at 5,000 feet/1,524 meters.

Felix's main and reserve (emergency) parachutes are rated to be opened at 150 knots, which means that he must slow to about 172 mph / 277km/h for safe deployment.

Felix can deploy his reserve parachute manually, but the system also includes CYPRES (Cybernetic Parachute Release System) technology to deploy the reserve automatically if he exceeds a vertical speed of 35 meters (115 feet) per second at a predetermined altitude (around 2,000 feet / 610 meters).

http://io9.com/5949077/how-felix-baumgartner-will-set-the-new-skydive-record--and-break-the-speed-of-sound-in-the-process

Assuming everything will be a go, he will then leap from the capsule.

At this point, Baumgartner's rate of velocity will be nothing short of intense. He will enter into what's called the "delta position" (head down with arms at his side) in order to achieve maximum velocity. And because of the exceptionally thin air in the stratosphere, he will experience virtually no wind resistance, and he will not hit any kind of terminal velocity. As a result, he's expected to achieve the speed of sound (690 miles/hour or 1,110 km/hr) after only 40 seconds of freefall. It will be crucial for Baumgartner to maintain a stable delta position, otherwise he may enter into an uncontrollable spin and lose consciousness.

It's worth noting that Baumgartner will experience a sonic boom, but because the air is so thin it won't present a problem. At least that's the theory.

As Baumgartner falls away from the edge of near-space and makes his way into the troposphere, he will start to hit resistance and gradually slow down.

Once he hits the 5,000 feet mark (about five minutes after his jump), Baumgartner will deploy his parachute. It should take him another 10 to 15 minutes to reach the surface.