Several years ago when I was teaching General Science I came across some video footage (actually a music video by a group called Boards of Canada, and only the first two minutes are of any consequence) of Joseph Kittinger's record setting skydive. Note that as he falls the sky is actually mostly black, not the blue that we're used to! He is actually falling at a speed close to the speed of sound, although he felt no wind due to the fact that there's almost no atmosphere where he was at.
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I was so taken by the bravery shown by this man that I looked up a little more about him. His story is incredible. He not only was a test pilot, and was a part of the first testing for the space program (that's where is skydive jump came in), he also fought three tours in Vietnam and flew 483 missions. He was captured and spent 11 months as a POW.
His name is back in the news as his freefall record is about to be broken (Update: it was shattered on October, 14, 2012) by Felix Baumgartner. You can read about Joseph Kittinger and his record setting skydive in a National Geographic article. Some more pictures of him in preparation and as he fell can be found here.
Read the articles and comment about what science gained from his experience. Also comment upon what science is learning from Felix Baumgartner's freefall.
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