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Zenith & Felix Baumgartner Partnership - Breaking the Sound Barrier with the human body
The partnership agreement between Zenith and Felix Baumgartner, the
Austrian pilot, champion parachutist, and record-setting BASE jumper,
was signed.
The project, called Red Bull Stratos, involves jumping out of a capsule suspended in the stratosphere from a balloon at an altitude of over 36.5 km, some four times higher than passenger planes generally fly. In taking this plunge, Baumgartner intends to smash four world records: the highest manned balloon flight, the highest leap, the longest freefall and, for the first time in history, breaking the sound barrier with the human body.
Just as importantly, he will also provide new research data to advance aerospace safety. Zenith Manufacture is one of the main sponsors of this extremely dangerous mission.
The Swiss watchmaker wanted one of its timepieces to be the first to break the sound barrier, proving once again its reliability under extreme conditions.
Freefall from the Stratosphere Contract Signed in Le Locle
Zenith CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour and Felix Baumgartner signed a partnership agreement associating the Swiss watchmaker with this exploit, which is driven by Red Bull and a stellar team of scientists and specialists. The mission will send a capsule suspended from a helium balloon to the outer limits of the stratosphere, at an altitude of more than 36.5 km.
Baumgartner will then attempt a freefall reaching speeds of over 1,100 km/h, exceeding Mach 1. The mission pilot will be protected during his fall by a pressurized space suit.
A Leap into the Unknown
“This is truly a leap into the unknown. No-one can predict how the human body will respond when it crosses the sound barrier,” explained Felix Baumgartner in Le Locle. To prepare for this mission, the pilot is working closely with the current holder of the high-altitude jump record, Joe Kittinger, a retired US Air Force colonel.
The Supersonic Flying Man
Air resistance is much lower in the stratosphere than at lower altitudes, which will allow Felix Baumgartner to accelerate quickly; he will attempt to reach more than 1,100 km/h within the first 37 seconds of his freefall to break the speed of sound before gradually being slowed by increasingly dense air. Controlling his body position despite such intensely rapid acceleration will be an extraordinary feat.
Zenith, a Pioneering Spirit
This mission in the stratosphere will test the reliability of Zenith watches under the most extreme conditions: temperature, pressure, speed, friction, impacts, etc. If the jump is successful, Zenith will be the first to have a watch cross the sound barrier in direct contact with the external environment. Zenith CEO, Jean-Frédéric Dufour, explains what spurred him to participate in this mission: “The expression ‘pioneering spirit’ best defines what Zenith is all about. We have often been forerunners in unexplored domains. It is this ability to come up with new ideas, then push through with new technical developments before anyone else, that is most fascinating at Zenith. Our watches have participated in some of the grandest human adventures: explorer Roald Amundsen’s discovery of the North and South Poles, Mahatma Gandhi’s peaceful fight for India’s independence, the laying of the foundations of ecology by the learned Prince Albert Ist of Monaco, Louis Blériot’s Channel crossing, John F. Kennedy’s political action, the soccer exploits of Michel Platini, one of the greatest players in the history of the game, and French physician Jean-Louis Étienne’s solo balloon flight over the North Pole.
The brand’s new ambassador, Felix Baumgartner, is made of the same stuff as these pioneers. He has a project: to be the first human to expose his body to a speed of Mach 1. We were attracted to the idea: in assisting him in his dream, we would become the first supersonic watch. In Le Locle, our watchmakers are working to develop a model specially adapted to this mission: the Zenith El Primero Stratos!”.
Date of the Supersonic Jump Felix Baumgartner plans to perform his supersonic jump sometime before the end of 2010. The exact date will be announced later.
This message has been edited by Kong on 2010-10-07 07:25:54
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Zenith & Felix Baumgartner Partnership - Breaking the Sound Barrier with the human body
The partnership agreement between Zenith and Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian pilot, champion parachutist, and record-setting BASE jumper, was signed. The project, called Red Bull Stratos, involves jumping out of a capsule suspended in the stratosphere fro...
