Hello,

This guy is not only nuts but he intends to hit the sound barrier on his way down. How on earth will he ever survive the jolt of his chute opening?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/02/would-you-space-dive-if-it-became-an-extreme-sport.html

Good lord!

S!

BVM

Terminal velocity varies with air density, and therefore altitude. While he will likely go supersonic up in the > 36,000 foot range....he will be slowing down more the lower he gets.

If the chute opening were as drastic as you are imagining, the _chute_ wouldn't survive any more than he would.

I've had a chute open hard enough to blow out a couple of cells due likely to a poor pack job. It wasn't much fun.

Terminal velocity for a human body in normal free fall from a plane is about 125MPH. I guess the resistance of the air at 35KM will be very small, so he could fall faster, but as he falls he will slow down, so if he opens his chute at a few thousand feet, it would be not much more than a normal jump. Of course he's going to have a life support system which will add to his weight, and make him fall even faster, so in his case, he's better have a strong chute.