Many jump from a plane that flies 3.8 km above the surface of the earth for fun, but imagine jumping from a higher place, such as the International Space Station, could this be more exciting?
It is assumed that when jumping from a place like the International Space Station, it will not fall directly, but in reality, it will take at least 2.5 years before it reaches the surface.
The height here is not the main reason that your fall takes so long, since if you fall like a regular skydive player, it only takes about two hours.
But the thing is, you don’t fall straight. You fall into orbit. The reason is speed. As is well known, the International Space Station is called a “station”, but it is barely static. In fact, it moves 12 times faster than a jet fighter.
And if you shoot anything that fast to the ground, just about the time it is about to collide with the ground, it will miss you! In the same way, the International Space Station is not floating in space, but rather falling towards the Earth and moving away.
And when you jump off the International Space Station, you are initially moving at the same speed. So you end up in orbit as well, at least for a while.
Despite its height, the International Space Station pushes through an extremely thin atmosphere. And this friction slows it down. Therefore, the plant operates engines to maintain speed and prevent collisions with the ground.
Unfortunately, your super suit does not come with motors attached to your feet, and this has two consequences:
First, this means that you cannot maneuver and you have to hope that none of those 13,000 alien debris bother you. Second, without missiles maintaining your speed, you will slow down and head towards the ground.
But you won’t be as fast as you’d expect, as the Chinese Tiangong 1 space station, for example, took about two years to fall out of orbit.
And on the International Space Station (ISS), you’ll be in a higher position, so it will take about 2.5 years. But once you reach the atmosphere, your long wait is over.
And when you re-enter, you have one goal, which is to slow down. You are traveling at supersonic speeds, so if you open the parachute then, it will tear to pieces.
And that’s not the only problem, as falling into the atmosphere at such choppy speeds puts a lot of pressure on your suit, at least 8 G-forces (acceleration force), which is 8 times the gravity you feel at sea level.
And if you fall with your feet first, that will push the blood away from your brain toward your feet. So you’ll likely lose consciousness unless you are one of those fighter pilots who are training to withstand up to 5 J-forces.
And if you don’t pass out, you might worry about temperatures, and imagine your piercing suit coming into contact with air molecules in the atmosphere at least 6 times the speed of sound. It will heat up to 1650 ° C, which is hot enough to melt the iron.
In fact, the heat is so intense that it strips the electrons of their atoms and forms a pink plasma around you that will eventually destroy the suit.
And if that’s not enough of the problem, the clouds will dislodge your limbs, but fortunately a space suit may provide some safety.
At an altitude of 41 km, you will have reached the world record for highest skydiving, as in 2014, Alan Eustace wore a space suit and zipped a balloon to that height. He broke the sound barrier on his way down before he opened his parachute and landed about 15 minutes later.
In fact, you will be falling much faster than Eustace, about 3 times the speed of sound. So, your speed will not slow down enough to open your parachute safely. Therefore, you must wait until reaching the skydiving area for ordinary people who do not need luxury suits to survive, and that is one kilometer.
And at this point, your parachute can do its job. Finally the time to land quietly.