AIM: The Future of Healthcare is Driverless, Augmented, and Intelligent
A year after the historic space jump, Red Bull just released this incredible POV video of Felix Baumgartner’s jump from the stratosphere. It also has a ton of interesting mission data collective during the jump. If you had any doubts of just how high 23 miles straight up was…well, this should quell them:
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Not only was Baumgartner’s jump record breaking in the scientific sense, it furthered the recent shift of extraterrestrial ventures from strictly governmental to commercial. A feat previously only attempted by the US Air Force and easily one of the most badass people to ever walk the earth (or above it), [easyazon-link asin=”0826348041″ locale=”us”]Joe Kittinger[/easyazon-link] was just smashed by an energy drink company. [easyazon-link asin=”B009WOZI9I” locale=”us”]Baumgartner[/easyazon-link] broke five records and the sound barrier on his jump and further proved that the private sector could accomplish incredible feats of human engineering. With NASA funding only shrinking, companies like Red Bull, Virgin Galactic, and Space X will be important players in the space game in the near and far future.
Future Implications
Since skydiving went from a wartime necessity to an adrenaline sport you can do for under $400 in about a hundred years, how long before you’ll be able to book a Stratos level jump yourself? Realistically, a long time. Baumgartner’s jump wasn’t just a really high skydive. It required a state of the art fully pressurized space suit and a one of a kind balloon to accomplish and those don’t come cheap.
Not to mention Baumgartner hit 833 MPH and went into nearly-uncontrollable spins a few times throughout the jump. If a man with years of experience and innovation in the field had some trouble keeping control, then your average Joe will probably have a bit of trouble too. While you won’t be jumping out of space anytime soon, know that Baumgartner and Red Bull’s team did push us that much closer to realizing our commercial (and accessible) future in space.
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About the author
I'm a freelance journalist based out of New York City. I specialize in the arts, architecture, design, and music. I spend most of my time writing and the rest reconciling laptops, Casio keyboards, and old tape machines to make music. I can be reached via Twitter.
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