Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Baumgartner's Daredevil Parachute Jump From Space Put On Hold

Posted by timothy on from the not-a-satisfying-reason dept.

Velcroman1 writes "For years, an Austrian daredevil named Felix Baumgartner has been planning to take a 23-mile plunge from the edge of space — and in the process, become the first parachutist to break the sound barrier, plummeting toward the ground at 760 miles per hour. The engineers and scientists behind The Red Bull Stratos project, an effort to break the record for the highest freefall ever, billed the jump as more than a stunt. The leap from 120,000 feet was to yield volumes of data that would have been used to develop advanced life support systems for future pilots, astronauts, and even space tourists. But a promoter feels that the jump was his idea, and filed a lawsuit in April to prevent the event from taking place. And now Red Bull has pulled the plug on the project, FoxNews.com reports. 'Due to the lawsuit, we have decided to stop the project until this case has been resolved,' Red Bull said."

8 of 248 comments (clear)

  1. WTF by somersault · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So if someone tells you to jump off a bridge, you're not allowed to do do it if they suddenly decide that no actually it was their idea and they want to keep it?

    --
    which is totally what she said
  2. "Intellectual property" by MrHanky · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When saying "wouldn't it be cool to do a parachute jump -- from outer space!!11" gives you a monopoly on draining money off the people actually doing it, the concept of "intellectual property" really shows how childish and immature it is.

  3. Sick of lawsuits by toQDuj · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Anyone else sick of ridiculous lawsuits? Can we get a public vetting vote for lawsuits to determine whether they are worthwhile or not?

    --
    Every experiment which ends in a big bang is a good experiment.
    1. Re:Sick of lawsuits by somersault · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I refer the poster to YouTube. Pick a video. Basically any video. Now, look at the comments. Do you really want these guys deciding what lawsuits are "worthwhile"? I think they'd actually get more ridiculous. These people are the ones that sue when they accidentally kill their dog in a microwave.

      --
      which is totally what she said
  4. The future of IP by khchung · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is what you get for promoting the idea of "Intellectual Property".

    If you can, using IP, stop people from making and selling products, stop people from singing songs, stop people from telling stories that contain certain fictional characters. Then why not stop people from making a jump from space?

    --
    Oliver.
    1. Re:The future of IP by Pharmboy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is saying: "Have a lifelong childhood dream? Well, that dream belongs to us now, and it is only fair because money changed hands, and we bought and paid for that dream."

      Thank god that Martin Luther King Jr. didn't accept sponsorships.

      --
      Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
  5. Re:Pull the plug by PseudonymousBraveguy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They invested heavily in the project and the resarch to make this possible. Just to "pull the plug" because some asshole sues them does not only leave the asshole with the "square root of fuck all", but also everybody involved in this project.

    Unfortunately the US is such a big market, else I'd say they should simply pull their producs out of the country and let the sucker try to sue in a more sane jurisdiction.

  6. Re:Space = 100km above sea level by zebslash · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We're talking about a Foxnews report here... Scientific accuracy is not their priority.