I leapt from the stratosphere. Here's how I did it | Alan Eustace

TL;DR

Alan Eustace, an aerospace engineer, shares his experience of exploring the stratosphere and the engineering behind it.

Transcript

So I grew up in Orlando, Florida. I was the son of an aerospace engineer. I lived and breathed the Apollo program. We either saw the launches from our backyard or we saw it by driving in the hour over to the Cape. I was impressed by, obviously, space and everything about it, but I was most impressed by the engineering that went into it. Behind me y... Read More

Key Insights

• 🚀 The speaker grew up in Orlando, Florida, with a deep fascination for space and engineering, especially the Apollo program.
• 🌍 The stratosphere is a rarely seen and explored part of our planet, characterized by varying temperatures.
• 🚀 Astronauts are the most common visitors to the stratosphere, experiencing it briefly during space travel.
• 📚 The speaker studied the possibility of building a system to explore the stratosphere and eventually embarked on a successful journey using a stratospheric suit.
• ⚖️ The stratospheric suit is advantageous due to its lightweight design and simplicity compared to other methods.
• 🎈 A smaller balloon was used to reach the target altitude of 135,890 feet due to the suit's weight, providing a simpler launch system.
• 🏞️ The launch took place in Roswell, New Mexico, and the speaker had an extensive team that contributed to the project's success.
• 📺 The speaker's family played a supportive role throughout the project, and their daughter's comment highlighted the notion that nothing is impossible.

Questions & Answers

Q: Where did the speaker grow up?

The speaker grew up in Orlando, Florida.

Q: What was the speaker's father's profession?

The speaker's father was an aerospace engineer.

Q: What was the speaker impressed by the most about the Apollo program?

The speaker was most impressed by the engineering that went into the Apollo program.

Q: What is the stratosphere and why is it rarely explored?

The stratosphere is a part of our planet that is rarely explored. It is the layer of the atmosphere above the planet where the temperature gets colder and then starts warming up again. It is rarely explored because it is one of the least accessible places on Earth and is usually only visited by astronauts during space missions.

Q: How did the speaker come up with the idea to explore the stratosphere?

The speaker studied the possibility of exploring the stratosphere using a search engine for about a year and then made a phone call to Taber MacCallum from Paragon Space Development Corporation, who confirmed that it was possible to build a system to go into the stratosphere.

Q: How did the speaker explore the stratosphere?

The speaker explored the stratosphere by going up in a balloon to an altitude of 135,890 feet and then descending back to Earth using a parachute.

Q: Why was the speaker's suit designed like a scuba diving system?

The speaker's suit was designed like a scuba diving system because it provided a self-contained system with everything needed for the journey, including thermal protection, oxygen tanks, and a parachute.

Q: Who did the speaker thank at the end of the video?

The speaker thanked his family, especially his wife and children, for their support and understanding during the project. He also thanked the team of experts who worked on the project and his friends at Google for their support.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The speaker grew up in Orlando, Florida and was impressed by the Apollo program, particularly the engineering behind it

• He wanted to explore the stratosphere and with the help of a team, built a stratospheric suit that allowed him to reach an altitude of 135,890 feet

• The suit was made by ILC Dover and had safety features like parachutes and thermal protection