- Title: Russians parachute from stratosphere to North Pole
- Date: 19th April 2024
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (APRIL 17, 2024) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) STRATOSPHERE JUMP ORGANISER, RUVDS.COM CO-FOUNDER, NIKITA TSAPLIN, SAYING: "The aim of the jump was to set a world record, of course. The jump was made from the stratosphere - at the North Pole, it starts from 10 kilometers, so from 10500 meters from where the jump was made, it is a world record. Nobody has done anything like this before - a jump from the stratosphere onto the North Pole. We should note that all of the systems: the oxygen supply, heating, special equipment, it was all Russian-made and it all did just a great job and we established a world record" WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) STRATOSPHERE JUMP ORGANISER, RUVDS.COM CO-FOUNDER, NIKITA TSAPLIN, SAYING: "Why exactly the Arctic - it is an important region not only for Russia, but for the whole world. In regards to Russia, 20 percent of the territory of our country is beyond the Arctic Circle. So the relevance of the work, the relevance of communication in places like this is crucial. At the present moment, the polar explorers in numerous expeditions have only one option - the Iridium satellite communication. There is no other means of communication there. Of course, our solution is a prototype, but still we managed, from our server, to connect with our satellite and to transfer data. Sure, it's not Iridium just yet, but we made some small steps in that direction and that was actually the task - to see how realistic it would be to build a low-cost solution in order to get access from a computer to a satellite. The North Pole is actually a very convenient place. The thing is that thanks to its location, a satellite is flying over there almost every 90 minutes, so you don't need a large group of satellites there to provide communication at the North Pole." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) STRATOSPHERE JUMP ORGANISER, RUVDS.COM CO-FOUNDER, NIKITA TSAPLIN, SAYING: "The goal of the mission was also to set up the equipment that was delivered from a lower altitude. The IL-76 plane dropped our equipment from an altitude of 300-500 meters, then it climbed in a spiral, up to 10,500 meters, and from there, our heroes, cosmonauts-stratonauts set the world record and then they landed at the "Barneo" camp and connected our equipment, our Arctic server to the energy supply system - the diesel generators of the camp. Their task after landing also was set up the equipment, which we did despite having to evacuate in a couple of days or even a day, due to a crack in the ice. But what we wanted mainly to show is first to set a world record jump and second - to get our equipment to work together with our satellite, which we managed to do." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) STRATOSPHERE JUMP ORGANISER, RUVDS.COM CO-FOUNDER, NIKITA TSAPLIN, SAYING: "Besides the oxygen, the heating is very important too. Heated insoles, heated mask, heated gloves and even all this hasn't saved our record setters from frostbite. All three of them got frostbitten cheeks as the temperature outside at the altitude of 10500 meters above the North Pole is about minus 50 degrees. At a speed of 300 kilometers per hour it feels like minus 70. Of course the temperatures are beyond extreme, plus the suit is quite bulky, it has wires in it, so it restricts movement. So there were inconveniences, but it was all tested beforehand. What we couldn't test beforehand is meeting a predator, and how it would behave."
- Embargoed: 3rd May 2024 09:25
- Keywords: North Pole Russia arctic stratosphere world record
- Location: NORTH POLE / IN AIR / MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- City: NORTH POLE / IN AIR / MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Europe,Science
- Reuters ID: LVA002613818042024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Three Russians set a world record for parachuting from the Earth's stratosphere to the North Pole last week in a mission that also served as a test of a new prototype communications system for use in the Arctic, an organizer of the venture told Reuters.
Mikhail Korniyenko, Alexander Lynnik and Denis Yefremov hurled themselves from an Ilyushin-76 plane at a height of 10,500 meters (34,450 feet) and spent about two and a half minutes in freefall before opening their chutes 1,000 meters above the ground. The descent was captured in a spectacular video.
All three suffered some frostbite to their cheeks, despite wearing heated masks, said organizer Nikita Tsaplin. As they plunged at a speed of more than 300 km/h, the air temperature of around -50 Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit) felt like -70C (-94F).
They landed near Russia's Barneo polar base, where Tsaplin said they were able to power up a server using diesel generators and establish a connection to a satellite. The equipment had been dropped earlier from a lower altitude.
Communications in the Arctic are likely to take on greater importance as nations including Russia, the United States and China compete there for resources, trade routes and military advantage.
Tsaplin said the Russians were able to send data via an experimental system, though he acknowledged at this point it had nothing like the capabilities of U.S.-based Iridium Communications Inc, which provides coverage from both the Earth's poles.
"Of course, our solution is a prototype, but still we managed, from our server, to connect with our satellite and to transfer data," said Tsaplin, who is managing partner and co-founder of Russian hosting provider RUVDS.
"Sure, it's not Iridium just yet, but we made some small steps in that direction and that was actually the task - to see how realistic it would be to build a low-cost solution in order to get access from a computer to a satellite." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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