But Balloon Technology Is A Limiting Factor In Stratospheric Free Falls

The man who holds the world record for high-altitude skydiving says that there is no reason that someone else can't go higher.

Speaking as part of the University of Washington's Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering's Distinguished Lecture Series, former Google executive Alan Eustace said that the systems that made his record-setting jump possible could work for even higher attempts. But, he said, the balloon that carried him to an altitude of 25.7 miles is a limiting factor. "If you have some other mechanism, 200,000 feet would be easy," he said. "I think you probably could do it."

But Geekwire reports that Eustace said he won't be the one to break his own record. He has donated his pressure suit to the Smithsonian, and the team that helped him break Felix Baumgartner's record has moved on to the World View Enterprises' plan to carry tourists into the stratosphere in a capsule suspended under a balloon.

And there's another reason, and all you married guys will get it. "I don't have the team, I don't have the suit, and my wife would divorce me," he said.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsftfzBrVko