Michel Fournier (adventurer)

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Michel Fournier (born 9 May 1944) is a French adventurer and retired Air Force colonel. He was born in Allier, in the Auvergne region of France.[1]

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[edit] Le Grand Saut

Fournier was scheduled to carry out the Grand Saut (Big Jump) project in May 2008, which would have seen him ascend to 130,000 feet in a balloon and freefall 34km to earth before opening his parachute at 6km to go.[2] In the process he was expected to break the sound barrier[3], and reach speeds upward of 1,000 miles per hour. His freefall was expected to last 15 minutes.[4] If successful, this would have records previously held by Joseph Kittinger, who set the previous parachute record by jumping from 31,333 metres (102,799 ft) in 1960 (with a small parachute for guidance) under Project Excelsior; and Roger Eugene Andreyev from the Soviet Union, who jumped from 24,483 metres (80,325 ft) in 1962, setting the longest free fall record.

The jump was expected to take place over the plains of Saskatchewan, Canada. After several delays due to weather, the attempt was made on 27 May 2008, but the balloon detached from its capsule as it was being inflated and floated away.[5] Another attempt at the record may come as early as August 2008.[6]

Fournier has attempted to break the record on three occasions. In 1998, the French space agency chose Fournier, a French Army paratrooper to conduct a record jump to test the ability of astronauts to survive reentry without a space craft. This project was quickly canceled. In 2003, Fournier attempted his first privately-financed jump but the balloon ripped while being filled. The New York Times reports that Fournier has spent "nearly $20 million" on his two private attempts.[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ The man : Michel Fournier. Le Grand Saut project.
  2. ^ "French skydiver prepares for record jump from 40km up", ABC News Online, 26 May 2008. Retrieved on 26 May. 
  3. ^ Skydiver to break sound barrier. BBC (22 January 2002).
  4. ^ CBC Radio 1 newscast, 8am 26th May 2008
  5. ^ Jump record fails to take flight. BBC (27 May 2008).
  6. ^ French skydiver's balloon takes off without him. Internatinal Herald Tribune (28 May 2008).
  7. ^ "20-Year Journey for 15-Minute Fall", New York Times, Matt Higgins, May 24, 2008

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