I leapt from the stratosphere. Here's how I did it | Alan Eustace

譯者: Marssi Draw 審譯者: Regina Chu

So I grew up in Orlando, Florida.

我在佛羅里達的奧蘭多長大。

I was the son of an aerospace engineer.

身為航太工程師之子，

I lived and breathed the Apollo program.

我的生活就是阿波羅計畫。

We either saw the launches from our backyard

我們不是在後院看太空船升空，

or we saw it by driving in the hour over to the Cape.

就是開車一小時到基地去看它。

I was impressed by, obviously, space and everything about it,

顯然我對太空和所有相關的事 都印象深刻，

but I was most impressed by the engineering that went into it.

但我最難忘的是當中的工程學。

Behind me you see an amazing view,

大家可以看到我背後的奇景，

a picture that was taken from the International Space Station,

這張照片是在國際太空站上拍的，

and it shows a portion of our planet

展現了地球的一部分，

that's rarely seen and rarely studied

這一面少有人見，也少有人研究，

and almost never explored.

而且幾乎無人探索過。

That place is called the stratosphere.

那個地方就稱為平流層。

If you start on the planet and you go up and up and up,

如果你從地表開始 一路不斷向上爬升，

it gets colder and colder and colder,

會變得越來越冷，

until you reach the beginning of the stratosphere,

直到你抵達平流層下端，

and then an amazing thing happens.

就會發生一件神奇的事。

It gets colder at a much slower rate, and then it starts warming up,

變冷的速度慢多了， 然後會開始變暖和，

and then it gets warmer and warmer

變得越來越暖，

until the point where you can almost survive without any protection,

直到你不需任何防護 也能活下來的程度，

about zero degrees,

大概是零度，

and then you end up getting colder and colder,

然後你又會變得越來越冷，

and that's the top of the stratosphere.

就到了平流層頂。

It is one of the least accessible places on our planet.

那是地球上極少人 能前往的地方。

Most often, when it's visited,

如果有人能到那裡，

it's by astronauts who are blazing up at it

通常都是太空人被發射上去，

at probably several times the speed of sound,

大概比音速快幾倍，

and they get a few seconds on the way up,

向上經過的時間就幾秒，

and then they get this blazing ball of fire coming back in,

然後他們回來的時候 會有一團火球，

on the way back in.

在回程途中。

But the question I asked is, is it possible to linger in the stratosphere?

我想問的是， 有可能在平流層停留嗎？

Is it possible to experience the stratosphere?

有可能在平流層體驗看看嗎？

Is it possible to explore the stratosphere?

有可能在平流層探險嗎？

我打了通電話——

I studied this using my favorite search engine

我用最喜歡的搜尋引擎 研究這件事

for quite a while, about a year,

持續了一陣子，大概一年，

and then I made a scary phone call.

後來我打了一通很嚇人的電話。

It was a reference from a friend of mine to call Taber MacCallum

朋友推薦我打給泰伯．麥卡倫，

from Paragon Space Development Corporation,

完美太空發展公司的那位，

and I asked him the question:

我問他：

is it possible to build

有可能建造

a system to go into the stratosphere?

能進入平流層的裝置嗎？

And he said it was.

他說可以。

And after a period of about three years, we proceeded to do just that.

大概有三年的時間， 我們持續朝那個方向努力。

And on October 24 of last year,

去年 10 月 24 日，

in this suit,

我穿上這套服裝，

I started on the ground,

從地面開始，

I went up in a balloon to 135,890 feet --

乘著氣球向上升 42.42 公里，

but who's counting?

管它的，誰去算啊？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Came back to Earth at speeds of up to 822 miles an hour.

回到地球的時速高達 1322 公里。

It was a four-minute and 27-second descent.

降落歷經 4 分 27 秒。

And when I got to 10,000 feet, I opened a parachute and I landed.

剩三公里的時候 我打開降落傘著陸。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

But this is really a science talk, and it's really an engineering talk,

但其實這是科學演說， 是工程學演說，

and what was amazing to me about that experience

對我來說最不可思議的是這實驗

is that Taber said, yes, I think we can build a stratospheric suit,

如同泰伯所說，沒錯， 我認為我們可以打造平流層服裝，

and more than that, come down tomorrow

更重要的是，明天過來，

and let's talk to the team that formed the core of the group

我們和這組團隊的核心人物談談，

that actually built it.

他們親手打造一切。

And they did something which I think is important,

他們做了一件我認為很重要的事，

which is they took the analogy of scuba diving.

就是模擬水肺潛水。

So in scuba diving,

水肺潛水的時候，

you have a self-contained system.

你會有一套獨立完備的系統。

You have everything that you could ever need.

你需要用到的一樣也不少：

You have a scuba tank.

氣瓶、

You have a wetsuit.

溼式防寒衣、

You have visibility.

能見度。

And that scuba is exactly this system,

那潛水其實就是這套系統，

and we're going to launch it into the stratosphere.

我們打算將它發射到平流層裡。

Three years later, this is what we have.

這是我們三年後的成品。

We've got an amazing suit that was made by ILC Dover.

我們得到 ILC 多佛公司 所製的一套驚人服裝。

ILC Dover was the company that made all of the Apollo suits

ILC 多佛公司製作了 所有阿波羅計畫的太空裝，

and all of the extravehicular activity suits.

所有太空行動的服裝 都由他們出產。

They had never sold a suit commercially,

他們從來沒有在商場上販賣，

only to the government,

只賣給政府，

but they sold one to me, which I am very grateful for.

但是他們賣一套給我， 讓我萬分感激。

Up here we have a parachute. This was all about safety.

我們在上面裝降落傘， 安全是唯一考量。

Everyone on the team knew

每個團隊成員都知道

that I have a wife and two small children --

我有老婆和兩個小孩，

10 and 15 --

一個 10 歲，一個 15 歲，

and I wanted to come back safely.

我希望平安歸來。

So there's a main parachute and a reserve parachute,

因此有一個主要降落傘 和一個備用降落傘，

and if I do nothing,

如果我什麼都沒做的話，

the reserve parachute is going to open because of an automatic opening device.

備用降落傘的自動啟用裝置 就會開傘。

The suit itself can protect me from the cold.

這套服裝本身可以為我防寒。

This area in the front here has thermal protection.

前面這一區有熱防護裝置，

It will actually heat water that will wrap around my body.

水經加熱後會環繞我全身。

It has two redundant oxygen tanks.

還有兩罐多備的氧氣瓶。

Even if I was to get a quarter-inch hole in this suit,

即使我的服裝上有半公分的洞，

which is extremely unlikely,

那幾乎不可能發生，

this system would still protect me from the low pressure of space.

這套裝置還是會保護我 不受到太空低壓傷害。

The main advantage of this system is weight and complexity.

這套裝置的最大優點 在於重量和複雜度。

So the system weighs about 500 pounds,

裝置重約 227 公斤，

and if you compare it to the other attempt recently to go up in the stratosphere,

如果你拿它和最近 飛進平流層的裝置相比，

they used a capsule.

他們用的是太空艙。

And to do a capsule, there's an amazing amount of complexity that goes into it,

太空艙裡面複雜得驚人，

and it weighed about 3,000 pounds,

總重約 1360 公斤，

and to raise 3,000 pounds to an altitude of 135,000 feet,

要升起 1360 公斤的東西 到 42 公里高，

which was my target altitude,

也就是我的目標高度，

it would have taken a balloon that was 45 to 50 million cubic feet.

需要 127 萬到 142 萬 立方公尺的大氣球。

Because I only weighed 500 pounds in this system,

因為我穿這套裝置後 只有 227 公斤，

we could do it with a balloon that was five times smaller than that,

我們只要五分之一大小的 氣球就夠了，

and that allowed us to use a launch system that was dramatically simpler

而且讓我們需要的發射系統 變得簡易許多，

than what needs to be done for a much larger balloon.

和發射大氣球相較九牛一毛。

So with that, I want to take you to Roswell, New Mexico, on October 24.

有了設備，我想帶大家回到 10 月 24 日 新墨西哥州的羅斯威爾。

We had an amazing team that got up in the middle of the night.

我們這支驚人團隊在半夜起床。

And here's the suit.

這是那套服裝。

Again, this is using the front loader that you'll see in a second,

同樣我們會用到裝載車， 馬上你就會看到，

and I want to play you a video of the actual launch.

我想播放一段實際發射的影片。

Roswell's a great place to launch balloons,

羅斯威爾是發射氣球的絕佳地點，

but it's a fantastic place to land under a parachute,

更是降落傘登陸的完美地點，

especially when you're going to land 70 miles away from the place you started.

尤其是你要在距離起點 110 公里外的地方降落。

That's a helium truck in the background.

後面那台是氦氣卡車。

It's darkness.

一片漆黑。

I've already spent about an hour and a half pre-breathing.

我已經花一個半小時 做預先呼吸純氧了。

And then here you see the suit going on.

現在大家看到服裝上場。

It takes about an hour to get the suit on.

大概要花半小時穿上這套服裝。

Astronauts get this really nice air-conditioned van

太空人會有高級空調箱型車載他們

to go to the launch pad, but I got a front loader.

進入發射台，而我有的是裝載車。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

You can see the top. You can see the balloon up there.

看上面，氣球就在上面。

That's where the helium is.

氦氣就在裡面。

This is Dave clearing the airspace with the FAA for 15 miles.

這是戴夫和聯邦航空總署 正在清空 24 公里的飛行空間。

And there we go.

要登場了。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

That's me waving with my left hand.

那是我在揮左手。

The reason I'm waving with my left hand

我揮左手

is because on the right hand is the emergency cutaway.

是因為右手負責逃生脫離裝置。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

My team forbade me from using my right hand.

我的團隊禁止我用右手。

So the trip up is beautiful. It's kind of like Google Earth in reverse.

往上的旅程很美， 有點像是反向的 Google 地球。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It took two hours and seven minutes to go up,

向上花了兩小時又七分鐘，

and it was the most peaceful two hours and seven minutes.

是最平和的兩小時又七分鐘。

I was mostly trying to relax.

我一直在試著放鬆。

My heart rate was very low

我的心跳很慢，

and I was trying not to use very much oxygen.

試著不要用太多氧氣。

You can see how the fields in the background

你可以看到背後的田野

are relatively big at this point,

這時候看起來還蠻大的，

and you can see me going up and up.

可以看得出來我一路向上。

It's interesting here, because if you look,

這裡很有趣，因為你會看到

I'm right over the airport, and I'm probably at 50,000 feet,

我就在機場上方，大概 15 公里高，

but immediately I'm about to go into a stratospheric wind

但是馬上我就要進入平流層風了，

of over 120 miles an hour.

時速大約 193 公里。

This is my flight director telling me that I had just gone higher

這是我的飛航指引儀， 顯示我剛超越

than anybody else had ever gone in a balloon,

無人曾用氣球抵達的高度，

and I was about 4,000 feet from release.

大概再 1.22 公里我就要釋放了，

This is what it looks like.

看起來就像那樣。

You can see the darkness of space, the curvature of the Earth,

你可以看到太空的漆黑， 地球的曲線，

the fragile planet below.

下方脆弱的星球。

I'm practicing my emergency procedures mentally right now.

我當時正在心裡默練逃生程序，

If anything goes wrong, I want to be ready.

如果有什麼意外的話，我想做好準備。

And the main thing that I want to do here

這裡我主要想做的事情

is to have a release and fall and stay completely stable.

就是釋放、墜落，完全保持穩定。

(Video) Ground control. Everyone ready?

（影片）地面控制。全員預備。

Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

五、四、三、二、一。

Alan Eustace: There's the balloon going by, fully inflated at this point.

尤斯塔斯：氣球從旁邊飛走， 當時已經完全沒有氣了。

And there you can see a drogue parachute, which I'll demonstrate in just a second,

那裡有個阻力傘， 我馬上會示範操作，

because that's really important.

因為那真的很重要。

There's the balloon going by a second time.

氣球第二次飄過去了。

Right now, I'm about at the speed of sound.

現在我的速度和音速相當。

There's nothing for me to tell it's the speed of sound,

我無從判斷那是音速，

and very soon I will actually be as fast as I ever get,

就快到我最高速的時刻了，

822 miles an hour.

大約時速 1322 公里。

(Video) Ground control: We lost the data.

（影片）地面控制：我們看不見數據了。

AE: So now I'm down low right now

尤：現在我向下降，

and you can basically see the parachute come out right there.

基本上你們可以看到 降落傘從那邊打開。

At this point, I'm very happy that there's a parachute out.

這個時候，我很高興 有個降落傘打開了。

I thought I was the only one happy,

我以為我是唯一高興的人，

but it turns out mission control was really happy as well.

但任務管制小組都很開心。

The really nice thing about this is the moment I opened --

這一刻最棒的是我打開…

I had a close of friend of mine, Blikkies, my parachute guy.

我有個好友李奇斯， 和我一起玩降落傘的夥伴。

He flew in another airplane, and he actually jumped out

他從另一台飛機上跳下來，

and landed right next to me.

就降落在我旁邊。

He was my wingman on the descent.

他是我降落時的得力助手。

This is my landing, but it's probably more properly called a crash.

這是我著陸的樣子， 但稱墜地可能比較恰當。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I hate to admit it, but this wasn't even close to my worst landing.

我很不想承認，但那可以說是 我著陸最差的一次。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

(Video) Man: How are you doing?

（影片）男：還好吧？

AE: Hi there!

尤：嗨！

Yay.

好耶！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So I want to tell you one thing

我想告訴各位一件事情，

that you might not have seen in that video,

你們之前可能沒在影片上看到，

but one of the most critical parts of the entire thing was the release

但整件事最關鍵的部分 就是那個釋放，

and what happens right after you release.

還有釋放之後馬上發生的事。

And what we tried to do was use something called a drogue parachute,

我們嘗試要用的東西稱為阻力傘，

and a drogue parachute was there to stabilize me.

阻力傘的功能是讓我保持穩定。

And I'll show you one of those right now.

我現在示範給大家看。

If any of you have ever gone tandem skydiving,

如果你們有人試過高空跳傘，

you probably used one of these.

大概就會用這個。

But the problem with one of these things

但帶一個這種傘的問題是

is right when you release, you're in zero gravity.

你釋放時的重力是零。

So it's very easy for this to just turn right around you.

因此這東西很容易就會繞著你轉，

And before you know it, you can be tangled up or spinning,

在你發現之前， 可能就已經被纏住或在旋轉了，

or you can release this drogue late,

也有可能你太慢釋放這個阻力傘，

in which case what happens is you're going down at 800 miles an hour,

無論哪種情況你都會 以近 1,300 公里的時速下降，

and this thing is going to destroy itself

這東西就會自行毀壞，

and not be very useful.

變得沒有多大用處。

But the guys at United Parachute Technologies came up with this idea,

但是聯合降落傘技術公司 想出一個辦法，

and it was a roll that looks like that,

就是用像那樣的滾輪，

but watch what happens when I pull it out.

注意看我拉出來之後的樣子。

It's forming a pipe.

它會形成一條管子，

This pipe is so solid

這條管子很硬，

that you can take this drogue parachute and wrap it around,

硬到你可以抓住阻力傘， 然後繞著它轉，

and there's no way it will ever tangle with you.

而且它也不可能會纏住你，

And that prevented a very serious potential problem.

這可以避免非常嚴重的問題發生。

So nothing is possible without an amazing team of people.

沒有絕佳團隊就什麼事也辦不成。

The core of this was about 20 people

這件事的核心人物大約有 20 位，

that worked on this for the three years,

一起合作這個計畫三年，

and they were incredible.

他們都非常傑出。

People asked me what the best part of this whole thing was,

大家問我這整件事 最棒的部分是什麼，

and it was a chance to work with the best experts

就是有機會和最卓越的專家合作，

in meteorology and ballooning and parachute technology

無論是在氣象學、 乘氣球飛行和降落傘技術、

and environmental systems and high altitude medicine.

環境系統，還是高海拔醫學的專家。

It was fantastic. It's an engineer's dream to work with that group of people.

真的很不可思議， 和那群人合作是工程師的夢想。

And I also at the same time wanted to thank my friends at Google,

同時我也想要感謝在 Google 的朋友，

both for supporting me during this effort

他們在我努力期間支持我、

and also covering for me in the times that I was away.

在我離開的時候代理我的工作。

But there's one other group I wanted to thank, and that's my family.

我還想感謝另一組團隊， 就是我的家人。

Yay.

耶！

(Applause)

（掌聲）

I would constantly give them speeches about the safety of technology,

我之前一直滔滔不絕 跟他們說技術安全的事，

and they weren't hearing any of it.

他們根本不聽。

It was super hard on them,

這對他們超難的，

and the only reason that my wife put up with it

我太太能忍受的唯一原因

was because I came back incredibly happy after each of the 250 tests,

是因為歷經 250 次測試， 我每次回來心情都非常好，

and she didn't want to take that away from me.

她不想壞了我的好心情。

So I want to close with a story.

在結束前我想分享一個故事。

My daughter Katelyn, my 15-year-old, she and I were in the car,

我的女兒凱特琳，15 歲， 她和我在車上，

and we were driving down the road, and she was sitting there,

我們在路上開車，她坐在我旁邊，

and she had this idea, and she goes, "Dad, I've got this idea."

她有個想法就跟我說： 「爸，我有個想法。」

And so I listened to her idea and I said, "Katelyn, that's impossible."

我聽完之後就說： 「凱特琳，這件事不可能。」

And she looks at me

她看著我

and she goes, "Dad, after what you just did,

說：「爸，在你做了那件事之後，

how can you call anything impossible?"

怎麼還會說有什麼事是不可能的？」

And I laughed, and I said, "OK, it's not impossible,

我笑著說：「好啦，不是不可能，

it's just very, very hard."

只是非常、非常難。」

And then I paused for a second, and I said, "Katelyn,

我停了一秒之後說：「凱特琳，

it may not be impossible, it may not even be very, very hard,

也許不是不可能， 也許不是非常、非常難，

it's just that I don't know how to do it."

只是我不知道要怎麼做而已。」

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）