THE A T M O S P H E R I C R E S E R V O I R Examining the and Atmospheric Resource Management ““A Jump Through Our Atmosphere”

By Mark D. Schneider the air actually cooled from approximately -20 On October 14th, Felix to -60 degrees Fahrenheit! Baumgartner jumped Then as he entered the from a balloon-tethered temperatures capsule and fell through began warming again. 24 miles of our ’s When Felix opened the atmosphere. This event door to the capsule and was both the highest free readied for his jump from fall and manned balloon 128,100 feet above the flight ever recorded and earth, his specially designed Felix was the first person spacesuit shielded him from to break the speed of the cold temperatures and sound outside of a craft or Image courtesy of Windows to the Universe. provided life-sustaining capsule. Coincidentally, pressurization. At this 65 years prior (to the day) space begins. Each layer of our , the atmospheric Chuck Yeager was the first person atmosphere is dynamic and has pressure is virtually zero and only a to break the speed of sound in a constantly changing temperature and few seconds of exposure would be rocket-powered airplane. The official pressure. The only exceptions to this fatal to humans. Pressure gradually name of the mission was “Red Bull are relatively shallow areas between increased on the way down to earth; Stratos,” but it was occasionally the layers, where the temperature until Felix reached an altitude of referred to as a “space jump.” Did remains constant within an isothermal two to three miles above earth, his this jump actually take place in outer zone. The primary layers of our suit continued to provide essential space? atmosphere in ascending order pressurization and oxygen to him. are the troposphere, , There is an international standard , and thermosphere. So the “Red Bull Stratos” mission called the Kármán line, named for Beyond the thermosphere, atoms and was appropriately named because physicist Theodore von Kármán, molecules begin to escape the earth’s its origins were in the stratosphere which defines the boundary between gravitational pull and pass into outer and not in . Whenever the earth’s atmosphere and outer space from what’s referred to as the humans leave the earth and travel to space as 100 kilometers or 62 miles , or top of our atmosphere. high or into space, we’re above sea level. Kármán chose reminded of just how hospitable 100 kilometers because it’s the Starting from the earth’s our planet is and that the immediate altitude where earth’s atmosphere surface and ascending through atmospheric layer we live in (the becomes too thin for aeronautical the troposphere, temperature troposphere) shields us and provides operations. Also, at this altitude there and pressure typically decrease us with life sustaining conditions. is a dramatic increase in exposure with height. Once reaching the to solar radiation and corresponding stratosphere, temperatures actually temperature increase. begin increasing with height because Atmospheric Resource Board of the concentration of , North Dakota State Water Commission 900 East Boulevard, Bismarck, ND 58505 What we know from observation, which absorbs much of the sun’s (701) 328-2788 • http://swc.nd.gov (UV) energy. This means though, is that there isn’t a definitive ND Weather Modification Association “line” where atmosphere ends and that during the initial start of Felix’s PO Box 2599, Bismarck, ND 58502 descent through the stratosphere, (701) 223-4232

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