On August 16, 1960, Captain Joe Kittinger jumped from a huge helium balloon at a height of 102,800 feet, almost 20 miles above the earth! Captain Kittinger fell for a full 4 minutes, 36 seconds.
He experienced temperatures as low as minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit and a maximum speed of somewhere between 614 - 714 miles per hour, possibly exceeding the speed of sound as he fell (he fell so fast that to this day, it seems nobody is absolutely positive what the exact speed was!)
The 28-foot main parachute did not open until Kittinger reached the much thicker atmosphere at 17,500 feet. Kittinger safely landed in the New Mexico desert after a 13 minute 45 second descent.
This famous balloon parachute jump was called Project Excelsior, and it successfully proved that a new parachute system would solve the problem of high altitude escape by aircraft crewmen.
The photos show the following events:
1) Captain Joe lifts off in his giant helium balloon (he is inside the little basket called a gondola) which hangs under the balloon!
2) Captain Joe bravely waves to an automatic camera while he sits in his balloon gondola high in the sky just before his big jump.
3) An automatic camera takes a picture of Captain Joe as he leaps from his balloon basket! He is so high up that the clouds are all below him and they look like a big white cotton blanket!
4) Captain Joe falls away from his balloon and begins the longest, highest skydive ever done!
5) Captain Joe finally falls low enough to open his parachute!
6) Capatin Joe lands safely on the ground and men help him out of his special "space suit."
7) Captain Joe relaxes as the men take off his gear.
8) Captain Joe looks very happy to have done his big jump and land safely back on the ground!
