A Jumpy Record

Admittedly, I was never the kid building ramps to jump my bike off. In fact, I don't remember ever really attempting a lot of stunts when I was growing up, most likely due to the fact I realized early on that I have terrible balance.With that background it probably shouldn't be a surprise to learn that as an adult I have never seen the appeal of the 'daredevil' made-for-TV event where one guy is going to attempt a crazy stunt like jumping his rally car over a canyon, a row of cars, a pit of fire or a car on fire at the bottom of a canyon. For some reason New Year's Eve has become the go-to night for these kind of events and even though I find New Year's to be a terribly over-rated holiday I would rather go out and deal with lightweight drunks than stay home and watch these things. I fell for it one year and the most annoying part is that you are forced to sit through an hour-long build-up show for a 20 second stunt. It seems a horrible way to start a new year, especially if you have made a resolution to not watch as much bad television. All that being said, I had a morbid curiosity yesterday to see how things turned out when adventurer Felix Baumgartner attempted to jump from space.

Baumgartner, a 43 year-old extreme sport athlete from Australia (where I believe children are only given the choice of becoming extreme sport athletes or rugby players), was supposed to take a one-man balloon into the atmosphere and jump from roughly 120,000 feet above the Earth. Because there would be almost no air resistance at that altitude he would quickly be falling at over 600 mph. If he survived the experience Baumgartner would have set several world records - obviously for the highest jump ever as well as the highest solo balloon flight but, most importantly, the record for being the first person to break the sound barrier without using any kind of transportation. Sadly, the jump never happened. Conditions were not right, as winds on the ground were gusting to a mighty 2 mph. (I don't want to be the guy crapping on a man willing to jump from sub-space, but that doesn't feel like the kind of wind which should scrub a mission like this. If you are going to spend years working on a project of this magnitude maybe make equipment which can work even if someone at ground level left a fan on.) After delaying for as long as they could, officials eventually had to call it off for the day. They hope to try the jump again soon, but it appears conditions aren't going to be in their favor for a few days.

You may be wondering why someone would need to jump from space. Well, the short answer is that they probably don't. Sure, the marketing teams for this event are touting the jump as a scientific breakthrough because it will not only test the limits of the human body but also show us what the next generation of spacesuits could look like. Felix's jumpsuit features some of the latest technology, including sensors which adjust to atmospheric pressure and wild temperature swings. With more and more people going to space in the name of tourism, how the suit performs during the jump could eventually help researchers develop a system for people to parachute from space in the event of an emergency. (Coincidentally, this is one of the X Prize contests I wrote about last week.) But, the reality is this guy is doing it for the same reason guys on motorcycles have been strapping rockets to their backs for about a hundred years - it will give him one hell of an adrenaline rush and even if it does kill him at least it will look really cool. We're all that fearless as children, only some of us grow out of it while others just get bigger and more expensive toys. Red Bull, as you would expect, is all over this, and their logos will be prominently displayed on Baumgartner's suit. I also assume they also have first dibs on sponsoring his casket.

To me there is nothing more telling about this jump than the fact that the current record for the highest parachute jump (19.5 miles) was set in 1960. That jump was done by a Captain in the United States Air Force to test the capabilities of a new ejection seat system. (Or at least that is what the Air Force said. It was probably another way to thumb our noses at the Russians). However, we've come a long way with jets in the last 50 years and my guess is if we haven't needed anyone to parachute from such a height in all that time we probably don't need Mr. Baumgartner to do it now. This feels like one of those Guinness World Records which stands for a really long time not because it is hard, but because no one else thinks it is worth doing. When you stop and consider the fact Baumgartner might be in the book next to the guy who keeping breaking his own record for holding the most rattlesnakes in his mouth (it's up to 12, in case you were curious), you have to wonder if it wouldn't just be better for everyone involved if the conditions caused the jump to be permanently cancelled. The only good news if he does eventually jump is that it should free up a lot of people's New Year's Eves, because after this stunt a motorcycle going over a fountain in Las Vegas just isn't going to cut it.