There has been a lot of talk in recent years about the privation of science, particularly the advancement of the space program. Many believe that NASA is no longer the pioneer it once was. Whether that may be due to the lack of funding (I agree here), bureaucracy and red tape, or just that it’s an agency with old thinking instead of new ideas, something has to change.
I covered the unveiling of the Virgin Galactic program in the Mojave Dessert and Sir Richard Branson hopes his idea of privatized space flight takes off (no pun intended). It is not a leap of logic to think that an international airline would move towards space. However, the company I think is really challenging the notion of where we turn to when looking for innovation is Red Bull. They started with their Air Races which is literally a race with jets flying around a course in the sky. It’s the stuff dreams are made of and just thinking about it has me excited, mostly due to how dangerous it sounds.
During the Olympics, it was revealed that the energy drink company constructed a massive half pipe and foam pit in a secret location for Shawn White so he could learn new tricks. He was quoted as saying that he learned as much in a few days of practice on that ramp than he could have in years on a traditional setup. I felt this was a massive amount of waste and gave White an (unfair) advantage but you cannot deny its impact. He invented, then shared, with the world new, never before seen tricks.
Today, I read in the New York times that Red Bull built a team of experts who, for the past few years, have been working on breaking the record for human decent. They want a guy to jump out of a balloon 120,000 feet in the air. He is going to break the sound barrier on his way down. They have no idea what will happen to him since the human body is so oddly shaped. There’s a chance he might enter a spin he can’t break out of or maybe get ripped apart as part of his body goes one speed and the other half a different speed.
This is crazy stuff and I love that Red Bull has the guts to do this sort of thing. I know what you’re thinking – it’s a marketing stunt. Of course it is, but you know what? I don’t really care. What is important to me is that a company out there is spending a lot of their own money (not taxpayers’) to push the boundaries of what we thought was possible or even safe. I don’t think I have to explain the ramifications of these “stunts.” Do you think scientists will want to know the g-forces experienced by a man falling 690 miles per hour? You bet.
The most surprisingly thing about this whole thing is the company that decided to step up to the plate and take this challenge. It’s Red Bull, a company which I have mixed thoughts about. They make energy drinks which a a whole I find very gimmicky and lame. But if you had to choose a Nike of that world, it’s definitely them. They are the respected old dogs in the game but obviously with an element of fun. Right now, nobody is really challenging them in the space but imagine what could happen if others did?
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