For the record, I wasn't putting ole Felix in the same bracket as the Apollo astronauts, just saying that virtually all human achievement has an element of "self-indulgence".
I can see that there's a lot of overlap between stuff I consider worthy (moon landings, space exploration, climbing Everest etc) and this, and I am not sure why this leaves me so cold compared to the others.
Essentially though, this has MOSTLY been done already. It's just added a bit of speed and a bit of height.
So yeah it's great that they climbed Everest or reached the South Pole. Howevever, pogo-sticking across Antarctica wearing a batman costume should be seen for what it is - an eccentric personal project, not some profound statement of humanity.
I wouldn't have a problem with the space jump if it wasn't so hyped up as something meaningful.
He was also monitored join the jump and test jumps and the data is going to be [url= http://medgadget.com/2012/11/the-medtech-of-the-red-bull-stratos-jump.html ]shared.[/url]
IIRC while watching it live NASA was mentioned as being interested in the results.
I wouldn't have a problem with the space jump if it[s] wasn't so hyped up as something meaningful[/s] hadn't been paid for by an Austrian drinks company.
😉
My impression of him deteriorated a bit after this:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/27/felix-baumgartner-sounds-off-on-nasa-sir-richard-branson.html
And while we're at it, the piss-take blog, Sarcastic Rover, is worth a read on the subject...
http://sarcasticrover.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/final-thoughts-on-felix/
I'd still like to give it a try though... Shame I have never sky dived before.
I liked his rationalisation of his fear, the suit being essential for the hostile environment, therefore it made it all ok. Simples.
If the photo that ole Horatio posted doesn't fill you with a sense of awe and wonder, then I feel sorry for you.
Are people here so cynical that they can't even admit to being moved by exploration any more?
Exploration is never a waste of time.
Mikey74 nails it!
Just the pic of him standing there with the bright curvature of the earth gives me shivers. I'm glad that there are people like felix and even companies like red bull.
I did wonder why Felix got the gig as they'd have had less trouble with some test pilot type. Guessing he's a Red Bull guy, and guessing being Austrian helps.
Also thought $11 million was quite a small sum of money for this type of project. Work a lot with big corporates and and frequently see how little they achieve with that sort of money.
And in case anyone has still not seen it...
Shame I have never sky dived before.
http://www.bpa.org.uk/your-first-jump/
http://www.bpa.org.uk/where-can-i-jump/
Stop putting it off! (Nice to see good old G-WOTG on that first page as well! Ah, happy days...!)
And in case anyone has still not seen it...
I laughed my a*s off when I first saw that.
If the photo that ole Horatio posted doesn't fill you with a sense of awe and wonder, then I feel sorry for you.
The photo does, but that's not really the issue.
I dunno if it counts as exploration - after all, we've been up there and beyond plenty of times. It seemed more like.. well.. willy waving. I wonder how much of it's down to the fact it was paid for out of a company's marketing budget.
Nowt wrong with big companies paying for it after all they seem to be the ones with the money.
During his "missing year" wasn't he busy doing this?
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