From: nmm1@cus.cam.ac.uk   
      
   In article <50gZc.10673$5w4.2149@fe22.usenetserver.com>,   
   richie086  writes:   
   |>   
   |> 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?   
      
   Not really, and vaguely.  It's an old idea - just not very practical.   
      
   |> 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 100,000 feet is under 20 miles, and you need to   
   get to well over 100 miles up to be "at the edge of space".  Also,   
   balloons get very ineffective at that height, and so you would have   
   difficulty lifting a significant payload to even 20 miles.   
      
   Also, you would be dead in short order if you were exposed at that   
   altitude - there is some air (or balloons wouldn't work), but not   
   enough to keep you alive for even a few minutes.   
      
      
   Regards,   
   Nick Maclaren.   
      
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