From: andrew.gray@dunelm.org.uk   
      
   On 2004-09-02, richie086  wrote:   
   > Hey..  I have a question.   
   >   
   > would the use of balloons to lift some sort of delivery vehicle or   
   > rocket into the very upper atmosphere work?  has this ever been attempted?   
   >   
   >   
   > What got me thinking about this was a show about a US Air Force captain   
   > (joke kittenger) back in 1960, riding a balloon up to 100,000 feet and   
   > then jumping off of the platform he was sitting on.   I understand he   
   > was wearing a space suit and you would very easily die if exposed at   
   > such elevations.  After seeing the movie that was taken from a film   
   > camera attached to him somehow, it's very obvious that he was at the   
   > very edge of space.  Isn't half the cost of putting the space shuttle up   
   >   or any rocket into orbit due to how much the fuel costs?   
      
   The problem is that your balloon can solve the problem of getting to   
   100,000 feet - which, incidentally, is a lot less than you'd need to be   
   able to orbit sucessfully, it's only 30km - but this is only a small   
   fraction of the problem; if you get to a great height and let go of the   
   balloon you'll just fall messily.   
      
   You *also* need to have a net velocity on the order of five miles a   
   second to be in orbit; your balloon certainly can't provide this!   
      
   --   
   -Andrew Gray   
    andrew.gray@dunelm.org.uk   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)