Up, Up and Away
Michel Fournier, 64, was trying to do a parachute jump yesterday from the height of 40,000 metres. That's forty kilometres. Upwards. That's really rather a long way up.
The idea was that he'd go up with a great big helium balloon in a capsule that looked a bit like a silver telephone box. Then he'd jump out, taking about quarter of an hour to drop back down to Earth, and breaking the sound barrier on the way. And this would set a new world record.
But somehow - - and nobody seems to have an explanation as to why, yet - the balloon broke away before it was due to be launched, and soared up into the sky all by itself. Six million quid it had cost to get it all ready. They thought of everything. Everything except, apparently, getting a good strong piece of string.
Poor man! If ever there was an "awww NOOOOOOOO!" moment, that was it.
It was nearly forty years ago, on 21st July, 1969 that Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon. Events like yesterday's escaping balloon make me wonder how we ever managed it.
Outer Space is positively buzzing with extra-terrestrial life, I bet, and yet we've never met any, have we? Could this be because they're giving us a really wide berth? On their interplanetary map where Earth is, there's just a big red cross and an exclamation mark.
"No, really, Slrzg, you don't want to go there, honestly. They're just SO accident-prone."
The idea was that he'd go up with a great big helium balloon in a capsule that looked a bit like a silver telephone box. Then he'd jump out, taking about quarter of an hour to drop back down to Earth, and breaking the sound barrier on the way. And this would set a new world record.
But somehow - - and nobody seems to have an explanation as to why, yet - the balloon broke away before it was due to be launched, and soared up into the sky all by itself. Six million quid it had cost to get it all ready. They thought of everything. Everything except, apparently, getting a good strong piece of string.
Poor man! If ever there was an "awww NOOOOOOOO!" moment, that was it.
It was nearly forty years ago, on 21st July, 1969 that Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon. Events like yesterday's escaping balloon make me wonder how we ever managed it.
Outer Space is positively buzzing with extra-terrestrial life, I bet, and yet we've never met any, have we? Could this be because they're giving us a really wide berth? On their interplanetary map where Earth is, there's just a big red cross and an exclamation mark.
"No, really, Slrzg, you don't want to go there, honestly. They're just SO accident-prone."
posted by Daphne at 6:43 pm
1 Comments:
Sounds like the best explanation I've come across for our not coming into contact with any aliens! :) I often have the same thoughts when I hear of architectural catastrophes. How did mediaeval man ever manage to build all those magnificent cathedrals? We can't seem to build anything that can last more than a few months/years without problems.
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