[img]1325|left|Alex Campbell ||no_popup[/img]Dateline Boston — I’m not into space—astronauts, moonwalks, robots on Mars. They don’t do much for me. I’m also not into daredevil acts. I don’t get a thrill from watching people risk their lives by bungee jumping off bridges or diving off cliffs.
Which is why it was so surprising that I sat in front of my TV last week, riveted by Felix Baumgartner, who did a free fall from space. It was probably one of the greatest moments I’ve ever seen live on TV.
I didn’t plan to watch it. I saw something about it on the news app on my phone. It had been postponed due to wind, and was rescheduled to happen at a time when I would be home and didn’t have plans. What the heck? Could be interesting.
I turned on the TV in time to see Felix ascending to space in his space capsule. It really started to sink in then, what this man was about to do. The plan was for him to jump out of the capsule, then at some point parachute to earth. Anything could go wrong. If he started spinning, he could lose consciousness. He could die before he hit the earth. He could die because he hit the earth. I got really worried that something would go wrong. But I consciously changed my thought pattern and got positive. “He will make it!” I told myself.
It took two hours for the capsule to ascend to the highest point possible. We have a giant TV, so it was great to see everything that was happening on a big screen. Everything was timed, so we knew if we had time to use the loo or make a snack. After awhile, it was time for the checklist.
Felix had an 8-page checklist of things to do before the fall. The man who was reading off the checklist was Joe Kittenger, who had previously held the record for the highest parachute jump. He started reading this list. This was a good time to make a snack.
When Joe started saying things like, “Okay, it’s time to unstrap the blah blah blah,” I started to get nervous. Felix unstrapped various things, moved his seat forward, and prepared to step out onto the ledge of the capsule. The ledge was the size of a skateboard. A skateboard! He gave the salute signal each time he completed a task. At each salute, I got a little sicker in my stomach. I yelled at my stepsons to come and watch history being made.
At last, he gripped the handles of the capsule and stood up. I said some bad words. My palms got sweaty. Then…he let go, and fell towards the earth. I might have passed out for a second. I came to, and for the next ten minutes we watched the TV as Felix appeared as a white dot on the screen; the camera could hardly keep up with him. At one point, he started to spin, which was terrifying. Then he somehow righted himself, and the crowd at Mission Control cheered. I almost threw up. His mom, girlfriend, and other family members were there to cheer him on, all the way from Austria.
Suddenly, his image got bigger. We could see him open up his parachute. Wow! From then on, things started moving quickly. He floated down, down. He was told what direction the wind was coming from so he could steer himself. We saw a helicopter fly near him. “Not too close!” I shouted at the screen. We saw a fence. I flinched.
And then, the most amazing part. Felix Baumgartner landed on the earth in New Mexico, as softly as if he was just taking a walk. It was beautiful. I think that was when I started crying. He sank to his knees and pumped the air with his fists. He had done it. Amazing. A miracle.
Apparently, he broke the sound barrier! I don’t even know what that means, but it sounds cool. The mere fact that this man fell from space with just a spacesuit and a parachute and landed as if he was stepping off a cloud just astounds me. I’ve spent the past two weeks showing as many people as I can the video on YouTube.
I started quite a thread on Facebook about it. My friends were going at it (politely, of course) on whether it was a big deal, just a daredevil stunt, or if it was scientific exploration about how pressure suits work, etc. I didn’t really get into the debate. I thought it was cool. If you have not seen the free fall, I implore you to watch it on YouTube; it’s only 14 minutes long. I promise you, it will be the most exciting 14 minutes of your week.
Here’s to you, Felix Baumgartner. In your honor, I’m going to do something daring. Maybe I’ll go outside this winter without putting on long johns. But just for a day; I’m not that crazy.
Ms. Vaillancourt may be contacted at snobbyblog@gmail.com
