Analyzing Risks and Maximum Altitude Metrics in Human

Free fall from Extreme Altitudes

Team 309: Problem A

Abstract
In this essay, we explore the scenario where a sky-diver is put in at a high altitude vertically
from ground with a total mass of 190 kg. We find the challenges and risk factors if the person
free falls from that distance. We also show that 52 km is the limiting value of the sky from
the perspective of our model. If the sky-diver jumps from such an altitude, the final velocity
doesn’t make it a soft landing for the sky-diver. We assumed gravitational acceleration to be
constant. But it does decreases with such increase in altitude. This error was ignored for the
sake of simplification of the model. How ever the changing pressure in different layers of the
atmosphere was taken into account to model the descent.

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Contents
1 Introduction 3
1.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 Problem Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Assumptions 3

3 Methodology 4
3.1 Primary Risks and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2 Model for Descent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.3 Numerical Modelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

4 Results and Discussion 6

5 Conclusion 7

6 Appendix 7
6.1 Simulation Using Python . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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1 Introduction
1.1 Background
Jumping from a high altitude was always a risky but curious endeavor. Joseph William Kittinger was
the first stratospheric space diver. [2] Alan Eustace has the record for highest altitude free-fall jump
from an altitude of 41425 m. [6] The highest velocity (833.9 miles per hour, or Mach 1.24) during
free falling was gained by Felix Baumgartner after jumping from an altitude of 38,969 meters.[7]

1.2 Problem Statement

In this paper we analyze this type of free fall for a skydiver carried vertically upward to a certain
altitude from Earth’s surface. The total mass of the skydiver, space suit, and parachute is assumed
to be 190 kg. We discuss about the challenges and dangers of such free-fall jump. A numerical
approach to determine a feasible height to jump from and also land safely on the ground is also
discussed.

2 Assumptions
The gravitational acceleration g is assumed as a constant and numerically it’s value equals to 9.8
m/s2 . We calculated the jump some distance above from the Stratosphere. Hence the skydiver
penetrates four stages before landing on the ground. Stage - 1 is the distance outside of the
stratosphere, stage - 2 is inside the Stratosphere, stage - 3 is the inside the troposphere but before
the parachute deploys at a height of 2 km and stage - 4 is the distance from the ground to the
height of the parachute deployment. Values for different constants at these four stages are given
below.

Stage Notation Meaning Value

ρ0 Density of the Layer 0.00
Stage 1 C0 Drag Co-efficient 0.7
A0 Area 0.18
ρ1 Density of the Layer 0.1
Stage 2 C1 Drag Co-efficient 0.7
A1 Area 0.18
ρ2 Density of the Layer 1.225
Stage 3 C2 Drag Co-efficient 1.2
A2 Area 1.9
ρ3 Density of the Layer 1.225
Stage 4 C3 Drag Co-efficient 1.2
A3 Area 150

Table 1: Constants Used with Values

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3 Methodology
3.1 Primary Risks and Challenges
Flat Spin: The person will experience great velocity when he free falls from the stratosphere or
higher altitudes where aerodynamic drag is very negligible. Soon after he approaches the troposphere
at this high velocity, the person will feel drag force from the dense atmosphere of the troposphere.
This could leave an imbalance to the person and cause spinning at a high spin rate. He will thus
experience increased G forces, which may make him sick or render him unconscious. These will be
lethal for that person at such an altitude.

Low Oxygen Level: It is essential to maintain a sufficient and consistent supply of oxygen
to sustain the physiological process of a human body at high elevations. To avoid hypoxia and its
associated problems, the spacesuit needs to have a reliable oxygen system. [5]

Temperature and Pressure: Temperature of the atmosphere fluctuates above the Earth’s
surface from frigid cold to rising temperature. And the atmospheric pressure shifts rapidly at
high altitude. To prevent illness like barotrauma or decompression sickness, the space suit has to
be capable of maintaining pressure stability while dealing with abrupt variations in atmospheric
pressure and have an efficient insulation system.[3]

3.2 Model for Descent

The sky-diver is left to free fall from a height of 2 km above the stratosphere. The drag constant k
can be calculated using the formula
1
k= Cd ρA (1)
2
There so apparent density and hence no air drag. Therefore the only force acting in this stage,
is the downward weight itself.
F0 = mg (2)
⇒ a0 = g
p
v0 = 2gy (3)
For stage 1, a drag force due to layer density is introduced. Taking into account the the Laplace’s
isothermal atmosphere equation [4] for growing density, the net force equation becomes -

F1 = mg − k1 v 2 ey/λ (4)
dv k
⇒v = g − v 2 ey/λ
dy m
This differential equation can be solved using Bernoulli’s Method [4]. We used WolframAlpha to
solve the differential equation for us and got the result -
q R
−0.000134011x −0.000134011x dx
v1 = e0.247428e C1 − 146257e −0.494855e

For y = 2 km, v = 197.99 ms−1 and λ = 7.462 × 103 m [4], we get C1 = 627250. Putting the value

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of C1 we get the equation for the velocity profile for the layer.
q R
0.247428e−0.000134011x −0.000134011x dx
v1 = e 627250 − 146257e −0.494855e (5)

When the sky-diver is penetrating through the troposphere, before reaching the height to deploy
parachute, it stretches it’s body to maximize the body cross sectional area. The velocity for this
stage was also calculated using WolframAlpha and we got -
q R
54.8164e−0.000134011x −0.000134011x dx
v2 = e C2 − 146257e −109.693e

For y = 38 km, v = 694.29 ms−1 and λ = 7.462 × 103 m, we get C2 = 448920. Putting the value of
C2 we get the equation for the velocity profile for the layer.
q R
−0.000134011x −109.693e−0.000134011x dx
v2 = e54.8164e 448920 − 146257e (6)

Figure 1: Stages to penetrate while descending

After deploying the parachute the system slows down and achieves terminal velocity of 5 ms−1 .
At this stage the velocity equation becomes -
q R
22.1962e−0.0134264x −0.0134
v3 = e C3 − 1459.81e −58.3923e

For y = 10 km, v = 585.65 ms−1 and λ = 7.462 × 103 m, we get C3 = 344445.72. Putting the value
of C3 we get the equation for the velocity profile for the layer.
q R
−0.0134264x −58.3923e−0.0134
v3 = e22.1962e 344445.72 − 1459.81e (7)

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3.3 Numerical Modelling
We study the change in velocity of the sky-diver as a function of height. For a small change in height
∆y, a small change in velocity ∆v can be seen. Thus the model can be described as -

v + ∆v ≈ y + ∆y

4 Results and Discussion

We are assuming an altitude over 50km, that is over the stratosphere where a free jump is possible.
After mathematical analysis and making some assumptions we got that the highest velocity that
will be achieved is 694.29 ms−1 at the stage 3 when the man is entering the troposphere. The speed
of sound at such altitude is 337 ms−1 [1] . The person will travels at a speed of Mach 2.0 at this
altitude. The highest speed human experiences so far is Mach 1.24. To withstand such speed is so
challenging for a human, although with proper preparation and safety measures. At such speed the
chance to flat spin gets higher at 250 rpm or more. For such spin a human will feel 6.82G. This is
hazardous. So, we can limit the altitude of free fall up to 50 km.

Figure 2: Velocity change of the sky diver on descent

The cross sectional area of the parachute can be regarded as a drawback of the model. It will
take much time to safely land with this much of huge parachute. It is also costly. It is tough for a

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sky diver to handle this type of big parachutes. Again if the air gives an upward lift to the parachute
somehow, the sky-diver can easily lose control.
Another weak point of this model is taking account of the gravitational acceleration as a constant.
The gravitational acceleration g changes with respect to the height. A 0.06 0.07 discrepancy in the
value of the gravitational acceleration can be found for this reason.

5 Conclusion
We have done extensive analysis and mathematical modeling to reveal the feasible maximum altitude
of free-falling from space. Including assumption and careful calculations, our analysis has led us to
a conclusion that the practical limit for a human free fall is around 50 km or slightly above Earth’s
surface. Beyond this altitude, the physical risks will escalate too high. As our analysis demonstrates,
reaching speeds of Mach 2.0 with potential flat spins that can lead 6.82 G, is hazardous for such high-
altitude descent. From our simulation we show that the speed at which the sky-diver reaches ground
is far enough from safe. Therefore we have to jump flow below 52 km at least. The parachute was
opened at an altitude of 2 km. Further analysis can be made using different values of this altitude
of deployment.

References
[1] A. T. Jóhannsson. Atmospheric Sounding by TAMDAR over Keflavı́k Airport, Iceland-
Comparison with Traditional Atmospheric Sounding Methods. PhD thesis, 2016.
[2] J. W. Kittinger and M. Caidin. The long, lonely leap. Dutton, 1961.
[3] J. H. Lynch and T. G. Deaton. Barotrauma with extreme pressures in sport: from scuba to
skydiving. Current sports medicine reports, 13(2):107–112, 2014.

[4] P. Mohazzabi and J. H. Shea. High-altitude free fall. American Journal of Physics, 64(10):1242–
1246, 1996.
[5] A. J. Peacock. Oxygen at high altitude. Bmj, 317(7165):1063–1066, 1998.
[6] Wikipedia. Alan Eustace - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlanE ustace, 2023.

[7] J. Zavala and J. Menendez. Kinematic analysis of felix baumgartner’s stratospheric jump in
2012: Modeling the various forces involved in an unusual skydive. Journal of Student Research,
10(3), 2021.

6 Appendix
6.1 Simulation Using Python
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Constants
g = 9.8 #m/s^2

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stratosphere_height = 50000 #m
troposphere_height = 10000 #m
mass = 190 #kg
parachute_area = 100 #m^2

stratosphere_density = 0.2 #kg/m^3

troposphere_density = 1.225 #kg/m^3

# Initial conditions
initial_velocity = 0.0 # m/s
initial_height = 1000 # m
parachute_deploy_height = 2000 #m

# Time step and total simulation time

dt = 1
total_time = 0.0

# Lists to store data for plotting

heights = []
velocities = []
times = []
Force = []

#conditions for different layers of the atmosphere

while initial_height > 0:

if initial_height > stratosphere_height:

drag_force = 0

# Calculate the net force

net_force = mass * g - drag_force

# Calculate the acceleration

acceleration = net_force / mass

# Update the velocity

initial_velocity += acceleration * dt

# Calculate the distance fallen during this time step

distance_fallen = initial_velocity * dt

# Update the height by subtracting the distance fallen

initial_height -= distance_fallen

# Update time
total_time += dt

# Append data to lists for plotting

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 heights.append(initial_height)
velocities.append(initial_velocity)
times.append(total_time)

elif initial_height > troposphere_height:

drag_force = 0.5*0.1*0.7*0.18*initial_velocity**2
# Calculate the net force
net_force = mass * g - drag_force

# Calculate the acceleration

acceleration = net_force / mass

# Update the velocity

initial_velocity += acceleration * dt

# Calculate the distance fallen during this time step

distance_fallen = initial_velocity * dt

# Update the height by subtracting the distance fallen

initial_height -= distance_fallen

# Update time
total_time += dt

# Append data to lists for plotting

heights.append(initial_height)
velocities.append(initial_velocity)
times.append(total_time)

elif initial_height > parachute_deploy_height:

drag_force = 0.5*1.9*1.225*1.2*initial_velocity**2
# Calculate the net force
net_force = mass * g - drag_force

# Calculate the acceleration

acceleration = net_force / mass

# Update the velocity

initial_velocity += acceleration * dt

# Calculate the distance fallen during this time step

distance_fallen = initial_velocity * dt

# Update the height by subtracting the distance fallen

initial_height -= distance_fallen

# Update time
total_time += dt

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 # Append data to lists for plotting
heights.append(initial_height)
velocities.append(initial_velocity)
times.append(total_time)

else:
drag_force = 74.48*initial_velocity**2
# Calculate the net force
net_force = mass * g - drag_force

# Calculate the acceleration

acceleration = net_force / mass

# Update the velocity

initial_velocity += acceleration * dt

# Calculate the distance fallen during this time step

distance_fallen = initial_velocity * dt

# Update the height by subtracting the distance fallen

initial_height -= distance_fallen

# Update time
total_time += dt

# Append data to lists for plotting

heights.append(initial_height)
velocities.append(initial_velocity)
times.append(total_time)

#Plot the results

plt.plot(initial_height,initial_velocity)
plt.title("Velocity Profile")
plt.xlabel("Height (in $m$)")
plt.ylabel("Velocity (in $ms^{-1}$)")
plt.show()

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