From the edge of space; highest marketing campaign ever!

Welcome at my blog about science which is mis-used or mis-interpreted. This first item is dedicated to Felix Baumgartner. That guy in Red Bull-outfit who jumped from 39 km height. A big scientific step as it says everywhere in the media. I guess it is clear to you, that I cannot stand this. And the worst is that Red Bull and its media partners keep on bringing 'new' stuff about the jump every day

"From the edge of space" is the ever repeating slogan. Normally the Kármán line is defined as the hight where space begins. This is 100 km high. And did you know that  even at the height of 355 km, the international space station ISS is slightly being slowed down by the last molecules of the earths atmosphere? Baumgartner wasn't even close the space yet.

The records which Baumgartner set (the highest jump, the highest ballon ride and the falling faster that the speed of sound) are no new things of 2012. They are just perfectioned versions of records Joseph Kittinger set in 1960. Yes, that long ago! Kittinger jumped from 31 km high and was even longer in free fall than Baumgartner. That last record Baumgartner did not even break. Kittinger fell down with a maximum speed of 988 km/h, not even too much from the speed of sound (1236 km/h). In more that 50 years not much was added...

Joseph Kittinger jumps at 31,3 km height out of a balloon
at Augustus 16th 1960.

I have always been a fan of Joseph Kittinger. He is the perfect example of someone who puts his life at risk, just to see what would happen. Someone has to do it, right? He almost lost his hand because his glove failed with -50 degrees centigrade. This was real scientific exploration, although it didn't look very fancy.

Red Bull turnes this into a nice commercial. It is a marketing machine not a scientific discovery! Unfortunately it fits with the era in which we live at the moment. No new content, no fresh ideas that change the world, but just 'old wine in new bottles'. It's all about amusement and spectacle, all at the cost of innovation. And where are those (scientific) heroes when you need them...

More info?
The site of Red Bull, without much detailed information: www.redbullstratos.com/the-mission/world-record-jump/
For those interested in the real deal. De jumps Joseph Kittinger did around 1960: wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Excelsior

De Nederlandse versie van deze blogbijdrage: From the edge of space, de hoogste marketingstunt ooit.