Would it be possible to launch 100 Km above earth (the border of space) and then skydive back to earth?

Question

I saw a documentary on SpaceShipOne, the first privately owned human carrying spacecraft. In case of emergency, the cockpit on the ship would unhatch and the astronaut would jump out. I wondered what good this would do on launch, in space, and on reentry unless you could jump out of something in space and get back to earth safely. At 100 Km, gravity will eventually take back over and bring whatever back to earth, so I do not believe someone getting out of a spacecraft would fly off into space. It seems to me that once gravity takes a hold of the human, they would plummet back to earth until reaching free fall, to which they could pull their parachute and get back to earth safely. My knowledge is very limited on this subject and the answer may be obvious and dumb but I would like to know the reason why I would be wrong in assuming this.

I saw a documentary on SpaceShipOne, the first privately owned human carrying spacecraft. In case of emergency, the cockpit on the ship would unhatch and the astronaut would jump out. I wondered what good this would do on launch, in space, and on reentry unless you could jump out of something in space and get back to earth safely. At 100 Km (328,000 ft), gravity will eventually take back over and bring whatever back to earth, so I do not believe someone getting out of a spacecraft would fly off into space. It seems to me that once gravity takes a hold of the human, they would plummet back to earth until reaching free fall, to which they could pull their parachute and get back to earth safely. My knowledge is very limited on this subject and the answer may be obvious and dumb but I would like to know the reason why I would be wrong in assuming this.
*assuming you had a form of oxygen supply. and there is terminal velocity, at some point you will stop speeding up, just as sky divers do.

you wouldnt be going naked on this, you would have a protective suit of sorts and have an oxygen supply.

Answer 1

First, the space suit and oxygen supply is necessary.
Some heating needed, as temperature varies greatly, from -60C at 100km, rising and falling depending of altitude, reaching some -50C at about 35000 feet.
Next you jump out of your machine...
First, you face -60C. Pretty cold. Turn the heater on.
When you will reach 90km, the temperature would have dropped to the lowest point, at -120C (150K).
You are travelling at a very high "horizontal" speed: you are (were!) in orbit. So you may stay there for a very long time, with all the other debris and older satellites. You have to slow down for the gravity to take over.
Once your orbital speed is slow enough, your orbit will "decay", that is, you will start falling... in a - still nearly - empty space. Faster and faster, with a gravity just a little below the classic 9.81 (what is 100km in relation to 6730, even to the square, he?... well 94.9m/s², in fact).
Your "terminal velocity", at the time, is very high: there is not much air yet, as such (I am not calculating it). (air density at 100km: 1E-8g/cm³ instead of 1E-3g/cm³ at sea level).
But as the air starts to get denser, the friction will also start heating you up, and your "TV" will go down. You may get a little bit cooked, if your suit is not adapted. (Sorry, I am not doing the calculations: too many variables).
TV = SQR [( m * g ) / ( Cd * r * A )], with Cd~=0.5, r=air density in kg/m³, A your area in m².
Reaching 35000' (12km), you will pass through one of the coolest area: -56C. If you were not cooked, you would be a frozen turkey (if your suit is not good enough), and you would be falling at around 4-500 km/h (depending on your shape). Not good yet to open your chute: it will tear you to pieces.
Wait a bit longer.
When you reach 12000', it is time to open you suit and throw it away from you: you don't need the heater/cooler, nor the oxygen, and your chute will now work as a standard free fall chute, but don't open it yet!
You have been falling at maximum speed for several minutes (about 25 minutes!), keep going.
Open you chute at 1500' and land safely.
Then join me on the beaches of Portugal and tell me how it felt.
I want to know...

Answer 2

100 KM may seem high, but it isn't really that high. Also, spaceship one isn't orbiting the earth, is is following a parabolic trajectory, mostly vertical.

When you jump out, you won't reach a point higher than spaceship one would have gone. Eventually (and this is rather quick) you will fall down to earth, with little (if at all) horizontal velocity.

100 KM is still within the earth's atmosphere (although it is very thin) and friction will immediately kick in. You will reach terminal velocity and not accelerate any further. At this speed, it is possible to open a tiny parachute, which slows you down, and then the real thing opens.

Yes, it would most certainly help to wear a space suit and have oxygen available.

Answer 3

No you would die.Plus,if 1km=1,000m,then 100km would be about 100,000m.And the Earth's gravity might bring you down and then you would enter the Earth's atmoshere and you would be burning up without a space suit.

Answer 4

They did it back in the 50's from a balloon. Here's an interesting story about it

http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Lighter_than_air/20th_cent_records-2/LTA12.htm

Answer 5

no
the friction would kill you
lack of Oxygen will kill you
the cold will kill you
your speed would be too great that if u got a parachute out the jerking would kill you

Answer 6

No, you would die instead. You must be on a suicide mission if you want to do this.