Flying stratospheric balloons with Aerostar's Russ Van Der Werff
Manage episode 399382594 series 3552413
Russ Van Der Werff is a self-described stratospheric evangelist -- it's even in his business title. He serves as Vice President and Chief Balloon Evangelist at Aerostar -- a world leader in the design and manufacture of highly technical aerospace and defense solutions. For more than 65 years, Aerostar has been advancing the field of stratospheric ballooning and reimagining what balloons are capable of. The company has had a hand in some of the most interesting uses of stratospheric balloons over the past half century, many of which you have probably never heard of, like a military project that took Air Force pilots by balloon to the middle layers of the stratosphere and then cut them loose; flying telescopes to look deep into space for NASA; and building an 800 foot in diameter balloon that can carry a Chevy Suburban 70,000 feet in the air. Get ready to find a new respect for the humble balloon.
4 episodes