# gst: the fastest fall of Mr. Felix' irregular shape

<< Felix Baumgartner jumped from the stratosphere 39 kilometers (24 miles) above Earth on Oct. 14, 2012, and landed safely on the ground near Roswell, New Mexico, nine minutes later >>

<< Baumgartner, whose protective suit and backpack gave him a very irregular shape, reached speeds of up to 1,357.6 kph (843.6 mph)—higher than scientists had expected even for smooth objects in freefall >>

AA << said irregular shapes appear to reduce the aerodynamic drag that increases as objects near the sound barrier >>

Scientists solve speed surprise in stratospheric stunt. Dec 14, 2017.

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-12-scientists-stratospheric-stunt.html

Markus Guerster, Ulrich Walter. Aerodynamics of a highly irregular body at transonic speeds—Analysis of STRATOS flight data. PLoS ONE 2017; 12 (12): e0187798. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187798. Dec 7, 2017.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187798