Wanderers (of a Strange and Distant Time)

Want to be mesmerized for three and a half minutes? Open this on a good monitor, click the “full screen” icon in the lower right of this video, turn up the sound, and sit back and journey the solar system. See if you recognize the voice.

Wanderers - a short film by Erik Wernquist

Thanks to Astronomy Picture of the Day for showing it to me. For more information about the film and scenes depicted, visit the website of Erik Wernquist, who assembled the film. A remarkable piece of inspiration.

And yes, my title line is a near-quote from the Moody Blues. Extra point if you can name the album, without looking it up.

Freefall!

The pictures speak:

Safe on the ground, after shattering a host of records.The streaming has been cutting in and out, so I don't know yet whether or not Baumgartner broke the sound barrier. Press conference about to start.

Edit: He did break the sound barrier, at 833.9 miles per hour in freefall!

Ballooning to the Edge of Space

I'm watching the live coverage of Felix Baumgartner's balloon flight to the edge of outer space. He's presently at 127,000 feet and still ascending, well past the previous record for manned balloon flight. The plan is for him to jump in his specialized pressure suit and freefall through the sound barrier before parachuting to the ground. 

Live shot of capsule at nearly 128,000 feet

He's having problem with the heat not working in his faceplate, but they've just announced that he will jump regardless. They're beginning now to depressurize the capsule, preparatory to his stepping out of the capsule and jumping...

Stay tuned!