Can You Survive Skydiving Off the ISS?

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Let's assume for a moment that you could possibly skydive off the International Space Station (ISS). Would that be wise to do? Could you survive and would you end up back safely on Earth?

For starters, you would not simply fall off the ISS. Instead, you would be traveling at the same speed as the ISS – 17,150 mph (27,600 km/h). It would then take you at least 2.5 years to fall out of orbit and head back to Earth.

That is of course assuming that all the space junk didn't collide with you and injure you. But the worst part really comes after you enter the mesosphere. There you’ll travel up to three times faster than the speed of sound.

You’d likely faint from the intense gravitational forces, and, more horrifyingly, you’d burn up during reentry at around 2,912°F (1,600°C). Not a fun ride!

If we have piqued your curiosity and you want to know more about what skydiving off the ISS will really be like, watch the video. You will also find out who holds the record for the highest skydiving jump. We'll give you a hint: it was conducted from Earth's stratosphere.