See it here first! Professor Brian Cox interview – another exclusive snippet

Just for our How It Works Daily users, here’s another sneak preview from our interview with Professor Brian Cox. The issue it features in doesn’t go on sale in the shops till Thursday so you’ll see it here first. This time we asked PBC to tell us of his incredible vertical voyage to see the 100km-high Kármán Line used to define the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.

Professor Brian Cox: The journey to the edge of our atmosphere was remarkable for many reasons. Of course, as shown in the programme, seeing our fragile atmosphere is a moving experience. What we didn’t use in the programme, however, was my reaction to flying in the beautiful English Electric Lightning. This is a machine that was built to go fast and high, and be as safe as possible given that. I found this exhilarating because I take quite a dim view of our health and safety obsessed age. I think, for example, that the Apollo programme might never have happened if we’d asked the questions we do today about safety and risk. I got a little glimpse of The Right Stuff flying in that plane, and it was exciting and inspiring. Engineering on the edge!

To read the full Brian Cox interview remember to get your copy of How It Works issue 7, which hits the shops on 22 April – earlier if you subscribe.

Kármán Line image courtesy of NASA/Professor Cox image courtesy of BBC