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Ballooning into Space

flyboy writes: "Two ballooners are going to attempt to get to 132,000 feet in a helium balloon named QinetiQ1. They are going to do this wearing spacesuits and sit in what looks like armchairs in an open gondola. From that altitude the sky is black and you look down on whole countries in one go. It looks like they might actually do it as well, since they have some serious backing, they are sponsored and supported by the former DERA, who have lots of experience in all things aeronautic."

7 of 153 comments (clear)

  1. Whatever happened to the guy in the lawn chair? by xmark · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sounds like a lot of hot air to me.

    1. Re:Whatever happened to the guy in the lawn chair? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Sounds Like a ligit attempt at a Darwin Award!

  2. The big question is ... by SirSlud · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... what is sex like at 132,000 feet under a baloon, in space suits?!

    (And what would you call /that/ club? Etc, etc .. )

    --
    "Old man yells at systemd"
  3. 132,000 feet? by ekrout · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hmm, that's around 25 miles away from the surface of the Earth. And they plan on surviving the flight and coming back down to this ever-increasing hell-hole of a planet because...? If I were them, I'd strap a live webcam to myself and see how close I could get to the Sun before my port80 got FUBAR.

    ;-)

    --

    If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
  4. Qool by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's quite qlear the quest for qonquering the qlear blue sqies in balloons is a qonstant qraving qaraqteristiq of manqind, and it qannot be squelched by qonsterning ballooning qatastrophes that oqqured in past deqades.

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  5. The best time and place... by ColdGold · · Score: 2, Funny

    The best time and place to do this would be over Australia on November the 18th!

    Whatta show with meteorites coming down all over the place.

  6. Re:132,000ft and then what? by FrankBough · · Score: 3, Funny

    By the look of those chairs they're sitting in, I think they're actually just researching whether you can still get the soccer on satellite TV at 132,000ft. The world's highest couch potatoes.

    I wonder what would happen to their tinnies at 1% atmospheric pressure - that would be some really fizzy beer.