Yes, the Space Jump Mattered

Now that Felix Baumgartner's supersonic freefall from the edge of space has entered the record books, it's time for the realists to step in and remind us that what we saw wasn't really all that big a deal.

You've probably heard their arguments already: it was a stunt, sponsored by a beverage brand that wants to associate itself with excessively energetic activity. It was only a few thousand feet higher than a jump U.S. Air Force officer Joseph Kittinger made, 52 years ago. Skydiving from 128,000 feet did not add a whole lot to our scientific knowledge.

All of which is essentially true. And all of which couldn't be further from the point if it tumbled out of a plane on the opp…
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