So here’s a first. The Redbull Stratos mission, which promises the excitement of three world records including highest manned balloon flight, highest skydive, and first man to become supersonic via freefall, beamed to you live via loads of HD GoPro’s strapped to the man himself, has been stalled by wind.
The last thrilling 5 hours have seen a lovely blue sky over area 51 (point the camera down and we’re all executed). The current feed dramatically displays a countdown leading towards zero when finally…! We get to watch the back of Felix Baumgartners head for the entire 3 hours it takes to sod off to the edge of space.
All jokes aside though, this is a genuine first for manned exploration and its interaction with live internet video. The fact that you can watch live as Felix leaps from 120,000ft (that’s like, 30 x the height of Ben Nevis yo) is awesome in itself. Let’s hope nothing goes wrong with the equipment on the way down, either Felix’s breathing apparatus or the digiSLR strapped to his head. Not the ending we’re all rooting for. ‘Mon the Bull!
Article by Toby Trueman
Toby is Heehaw's Head of Productions. He is partial to ale and mountains, and enjoys a good BBQ. His hopes for the future include owning a bloody fast car and 'being international'.
An amazing thing to watch, that was. On the web side of things, quite something to get such a number of people watching it live on YouTube! A great illustration of how existing (and free) technology can be leveraged to broadcast live streams. With tools like this and UStream it’s easier than ever to do.