• Question: Hello, what are your thoughts on Feelix Baumgartner breaking the speed of sound ?

    Asked by deirbhileok to Enda, Jean, Kate, Kev, Tim on 12 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Kevin Lomasney

      Kevin Lomasney answered on 12 Nov 2012:

      @deirbhileok

      Absolutely astounding! It is another wonderful and captivating example of how humans are constantly breaking the boundaries of what is considered “humanly possible”. Feats of bravery (not to mention extraordinary science) like this are absolutely necessary to inspire and challenge people to do more and discover more. I think that throughout humanity, thanks to the bravery of people such as Felix Baumgartner, the ingenuity of the people behind him, and the curiosity of both, impossible is word which is becoming more and more useless everyday. Inspiring stuff altogether!

    • Photo: Enda O'Connell

      Enda O'Connell answered on 13 Nov 2012:

      @deirbhileok

      I thought it was amazing! Apart from it being a breathtaking stunt, it was an important scientific mission. He was the first person to break the sound barrier without using a vehicle and nobody knew for sure what this would do to his body. Now they have lots of data to analyse for use in future projects, such as emergency evacuation situations at that height and other applications we haven’t even dreamed about.

      What I though was really interesting was the presence of Dr Jonathan Clark as Medical Director on the mission. His wife Laurel was one of the NASA astronaut’s killed in 2003 when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated trying to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Since then, he has dedicated his life to prevent that type of incident claiming lives in the future. He hopes that if that type of incident were to happen again, there would be a way of saving the lives of the astronauts, perhaps by parachuting from those extreme heights in specialised suits, much like Felix wore.

      I really admire what both Felix and Dr. Clark, and indeed the entire Stratos team, achieved and am sure it will lead to many important discoveries and benefits for mankind.

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