The 2014 Balls of Stone Award absolutely has to go to Dr Robert Alan Eustace, the Google Senior Vice-President of Knowledge, who broke Felix Baumgartner's parachute high jump and freefall records from the edge of space. This attempt was done quietly, without fanfare, and stunned everyone, including Baumgartner I am sure. Eustace is a 58-year-old computer scientist, not a professional athlete, and his feat in my opinion astonishing. Here are the salient facts: On October 24, 2014, Eustace made a jump from the stratosphere. The launch-point for his jump was from an abandoned runway in Roswell, New Mexico, where he began his balloon-powered ascent early that morning. He reached a reported maximum altitude of 135,908 feet—25.740 miles (41.425 km)—but the final number submitted to the World Air Sports Federation was 135,889.108 ft—25.736573 miles (41.419000 km). The balloon used for the feat was manufactured by the Balloon Facility of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Hyderabad, India.His descent to Earth lasted 15 minutes and stretched nearly 26 miles (42 km) with peak speeds exceeding 821.45 miles (1,322.00 km) per hour; setting new world records for the highest free fall jump, and total free fall distance.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
The 2014 Balls of Stone Award
The 2014 Balls of Stone Award absolutely has to go to Dr Robert Alan Eustace, the Google Senior Vice-President of Knowledge, who broke Felix Baumgartner's parachute high jump and freefall records from the edge of space. This attempt was done quietly, without fanfare, and stunned everyone, including Baumgartner I am sure. Eustace is a 58-year-old computer scientist, not a professional athlete, and his feat in my opinion astonishing. Here are the salient facts: On October 24, 2014, Eustace made a jump from the stratosphere. The launch-point for his jump was from an abandoned runway in Roswell, New Mexico, where he began his balloon-powered ascent early that morning. He reached a reported maximum altitude of 135,908 feet—25.740 miles (41.425 km)—but the final number submitted to the World Air Sports Federation was 135,889.108 ft—25.736573 miles (41.419000 km). The balloon used for the feat was manufactured by the Balloon Facility of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Hyderabad, India.His descent to Earth lasted 15 minutes and stretched nearly 26 miles (42 km) with peak speeds exceeding 821.45 miles (1,322.00 km) per hour; setting new world records for the highest free fall jump, and total free fall distance.
