Dec 17, 2005
Kittinger Freefall
by way of Nabeel and del.icio.us
So it’s 1960 and Joseph Kittinger hops aboard a balloon destined for thirty kilometers above the earth and, upon reaching his destination, jumps out with nothing but a space-suit and a parachute.
I’ve gotta say I’m not too impressed with the video, but I’m blown away by the idea of what must have been going through his head at the time. Obviously, there is scientific process to back up what he’s about to do, and that must help somewhat, but at thirty freakin’ kilometers up, with no real experience, there must be a million questions running through your head.
Maybe I’m just jaded but it seems rare to me that these kinds of events occur anymore. There is far less mystery than there must have been in Joey’s time. People bitch and moan about self-discovery but this is true discovery, not deciding which form of buddhism fits your yuppy, suburban lifestyle, but asking serious questions about the value of life while a planet screams toward you at 990 kilometers-per-hour…
