Project Excelsior

This is human behaviour at its best. Curiosity, bravery and endeavour. Just like the Gemini and Apollo guys. Hats off to you all. Big time.

USAF: "Hey Joe, c'mere! We want you to sit in this lawn chair. We're going to hook it to a balloon, and we want you to ride it into space. We don't know if the suit will keep you alive. We don't know if you'll fall down or up when you get there, and the only way back is to jump. Whaddya say?"

Joe: "Just give me an extra chute for my balls."

I'm gonna do this someday. That is my goal in life, not the only one, but a big goal to give me purpose. The name's Eric. try to remember me and wish me luck

lol everyone in the army always wear bunny boots when its cold out..

well said sir.

talk about laughing in the face of death

this dude got some giant cohones

Some jump off cliffs with a parachute on though and then let their bike crash to the bottom though. They do it with snowboards as well (although it isn't part of the X Games).

m013310 I would also argue that the government does not think it's worth the bad PR that happens if things go wrong. Enough negative PR eventually leads to budget cuts and scrapping of programs (eg Osprey).
Just look at the Discovery and Challenger, a dozen or so soldiers don't matter much to the media and public but civilians and individuals dying garners a ton of negative press.

@danconia3873 The Osprey was a death trap that needed to be scrapped years ago. Too many good Marines lost their lives for some fat cats' pet project.