I was well into my fifth year when history was made in the field of aerospace.
A man ascended to the edge of space in an open gondola balloon and then initiated a record setting free fall.
Whereas we on the Earth were mere mortals this man took it upon himself to control the physics of that region others could have never traveled without the creature comforts afforded by rocket engines and pressurized vehicles and thereby became both history and the stuff of legend.
Like the intrepid and able samurai who came long before him, this is no ordinary man.
Joseph William Kittinger II
Born July 27, 1928
Former Command Pilot and career military officer in the United States Air Force.
Most famous for his participation in Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior, holding the records for having the highest, fastest and longest skydive — and as being the first man to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon.
He was a war hero who served as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, and was shot down then spent 11 months in a North Vietnamese prison.
On August 16, 1960, he made his last jump from the gondola of a balloon which was named Excelsior III from an altitude of 102,800 feet.
He towed a small drogue parachute to stabilize the free fall of four minutes and 36 seconds and a maximum speed of 614 miles per hour.
He then opened his parachute at 18,000 feet.
The pressure mechanism in his right glove failed causing his hand to swell to twice it’s normal size.
He set historical numbers for:
- highest balloon ascent
- highest parachute jump
- longest drogue-fall (four minutes)
- fastest speed by a human being through the atmosphere
Project Excelsior proved it was possible for an air crew to descend safely after ejecting at extreme altitudes. These remain current USAF records. However they were not submitted for aerospace world records to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
