Flight at the Edge of the Ozone Layer | One Strange Rock

2m read

·Nov 11, 2024

NARRATOR: 30 years ago, we discovered man-made chemicals had punched a hole in the ozone layer. Is that hole here to stay, waiting around to kill us? Today, we're trying hard to find out. Morgan Sandercock is about to test an experimental plane, perfect for sampling ozone.

MAN: (ON RADIO) Copy that. So I felt pressure rising.

MORGAN SANDERCOCK: (VOICEOVER) We think we can go as high as 90,000 feet.

MAN: (ON RADIO) Jim, you ready to go?

JIM PAYNE: (ON RADIO) We're ready.

MORGAN SANDERCOCK: (VOICEOVER) That's the big boy territory. That's where things can go wrong very, very quickly. If we lose cabin pressure, then, the pilots could very easily pass out. And we don't have any automatic systems to recover from that.

WOMAN: (ON RADIO) Getting ready to roll.

NARRATOR: Now, a glider might sound like a dangerous choice so high up. But gliders don't have engines, which means they can't pollute the team's samples.

MAN: (ON RADIO) Confirm [inaudible] off.

WOMAN: (ON RADIO) [inaudible] is off. Wing wheel is off.

MAN: (ON RADIO) Been running at 11:32.

MAN: (ON RADIO) 11:32. Written down in GPS 5.

MAN: (ON RADIO) Airborne. [music playing]

NARRATOR: The Perlan glider uses air rising over the Southern Andes to reach extraordinary heights.

MAN: (ON RADIO) Airspeed, 70 knots. Looking beautiful.

MAN: (ON RADIO) Yeah?

MAN: (ON RADIO) Really high.

MAN: (ON RADIO) Traffic.

MAN: (ON RADIO) Yeah.

NARRATOR: 52,000 feet up makes this the highest glider flight ever. But you've got to get this high to get a great picture of the ozone layer. The good news is that thanks to a global ban on ozone-harming chemicals, it looks like the hole is healing up. Our shield is regenerating.

Clarifying standard form rules

Bird Taking Off at 20,000 fps (213 milliseconds) - Smarter Every Day 197

View All

The Secret City inside of London Revealed

The Great City of London, known for its historical landmarks, modern skyscrapers, ancient markets, and famous bridges. It’s arguably the financial capital of the world and home to over eleven thousand people. Wait, what? Eleven… thousand? That’s right: bu…

Alex Honnold Rappels The Moulin | Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold | National Geographic

[Alex] Deep enough that it just turns black. [Heidi] Yeah. [Alex] Yeah, it’s pretty far. [Heidi] This huge hole is called a moulin. It acts like a drain, funneling meltwater to the base of the glacier. This is the abyss; it’s all pretty big and pretty int…

How To Get Rich According to Naval Ravikant

There are a million ways to make a million dollars, and this is the sound of all. Ravi Khan does it. For those of you who don’t know, Naval Ravikant is a philosopher and entrepreneur whose insights on happiness, wealth creation, and personal growth have g…

Narcotics Hidden in a Toy Car | To Catch A Smuggler

Ready to go? OK. We look for any contraband, agricultural products, narcotics, money, instruments of terror, anything like that prohibited from the United States. So this morning we had an express consignment flight arrive from Germany. What we’re going…

Kalani Queypo: Playing Squanto | Saints & Strangers

Squanto is actually a real figure in American history. Quanto is from the Pawtuxet tribe, and Squanto actually is a way for like a decade. He’s enslaved, he’s captured by Europeans, and he learns the English language. A decade later, he comes back, finds …

This Yacht Makes $150,000 Per Week (Here's How)

What’s up guys, it’s Graham here! So this has been the most luxurious week of my entire life, and if you’re curious what a hundred and fifty thousand dollars a week gets you in Croatia, wait no longer! “Graham, welcome onboard Ohana.” “Thank you, I’m ha…

Flight at the Edge of the Ozone Layer | One Strange Rock

More Articles