One Giant Leap…

The recent cuts made to the NASA program in the United States have been rightly criticized. At a time when the U.S. government pours billions of dollars into the research and manufacturing of bombs, tanks and other killing machines, they felt they couldn’t spare a few extra million for the most productive scientific research organization in the history of humanity. NASA’s contributions to society over the past few decades cannot be overstated. Satellites, Global Positioning Systems, “space age” foam mattresses, Tang and other products and discoveries vital to our everyday, technology filled lives are all connected, in some way, to the work and research done by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The importance of scientific progress for its own sake should also not be ignored. The best byproduct of the Cold War, NASA and space flight fueled the collective imagination of an entire species. It provided a harmless way for both the Soviets and Americans to let out some steam without blowing each other to smithereens. Without the space race, the four decades between the end of World War II and the fall of the USSR would have just become an arms race, perhaps one with one inevitable conclusion: all-out war. And, most importantly, NASA and the Space Race gave humanity shared heroes and triumphs. Walking on the moon, the Apollo Suyez Project and the International Space Station acted as diplomatic missions between the world’s powerful nations. They gave, and still give, human beings to look beyond their differences and towards the greatness that can be achieved by working together.

So the recent budgetary kneecapping of NASA did not look promising. But we were forced to accept the government’s assurances that, hopefully, the banners of previous space missions would be carried on by private enterprise. Right, because companies are lining up to dump millions into programs with no potential for profit, no hopes of large payouts for shareholders, that is, unless the company is owned by Richard Branson or James Cameron.

Or unless that company is Red Bull, which has been involved in showcasing numerous record-breaking events, like its recent New Year’s Eve daredevil car-jumping events. These events, perhaps literally publicity stunts, really seem to be no more than that. A daredevil comes to the stage, gets in his truck or hops on his motor bike, appropriately covered in Red Bull decals, and then goes flying off a ramp.

The exception is yesterday’s exceptional case: Felix Baumgartner’s free-fall from about 120,000 feet in the sky, during which it is reported that he broke the sound barrier. The amount of preparation, planning and technology involved in the event must have been enormous. Everything from the specially designed, pressurized suit to the multiple devices used to track Baumgartner’s descent, demonstrate the amount of pure, unadulterated science needed for the success of the mission. Here is an achievement worthy of NASA-like plaudits. Here is an event that may allay the many fears of those doubters of private industry. Certainly Red Bull got something out of the deal, be it publicity or what have you. But the human race did as well. Be it from this project or one in the future, it is likely that some new piece of awesome, beneficial technology may be discovered, maybe even the next Tempurpedic mattress!

Felix Baumgartner’s success also gives humanity an icon, perhaps not rivaling the awesome Neil Armstrong or John Glenn. But he, like members of previous generations of astronauts, was willing to risk his life in order to push the human body and human discovery to the limit. He may be the champion of the next generations of adventurers and explorers who bring human beings further into the sky, and closer together.