Indy, given the stratospheric mention in your post, have you ever seen this video from a number of years ago:
It came out some while the Strat venture was at the forefront of the company's efforts and tests were happening in Germany. Also around that time, Bob Jones, a former president of Sanswire and former NASA staffer, was quoted as saying 'they aren't laughing now' (perhaps paraphrased). Some here (I) speculated that his statement could have been alluding to this Space Shuttle event. Ren? Comments appreciated. Tia.