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What goes up…

Thursday, August 16, 2007

While Joe Kittinger Jr. was growing up in Tampa, Fla., his dream was to become a pilot, perhaps to become a famous military aviator, but his claim to fame came not from flying, but from falling, almost 20 miles straight down. On the way, he became the first man to exceed the speed of sound -- without a plane.

Kittinger was born in Tampa in July 1928. He entered the Air Force in March 1949 as an aviation cadet. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in March 1950. From 1950 to 1953 he served as a jet pilot in the 86th Fighter Bomber Squadron in Germany and then was assigned to the Air Force Missile Development Center at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. On June 2, 1957, while stationed at the AFMDC, Kittinger made a balloon flight to 96,000 feet in the first flight of the Air Force's "Project Man High."

After being assigned to the Aerospace Medical Research Laboratories, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, Kittinger, now a captain, was appointed test director of "Project Excelsior," investigating escape from high altitude. As jet aircraft flew higher and faster, the Air Force became increasingly concerned with the hazards faced by flight crews ejecting from these high performance aircraft. Project Excelsior was established in 1958 to study and solve these high altitude escape problems.

During this project, there were three high altitude jumps accomplished from a balloon-supported gondola; the first from 76,400 feet; the second from 74,700 feet 25 days later; and on Aug. 16, 1960, from 102,800 feet, the highest altitude from which man has ever jumped. It was Kittinger who did the jumping.

In freefall for four and a half minutes, Kittinger fell at speeds up to 714 mph, exceeding the speed of sound. He experienced temperatures as low as -94 degrees Fahrenheit. Kittinger opened his parachute at 18,000 feet and landed safely in the New Mexico desert after a 13 minute 45 second descent. Project Excelsior successfully proved the new parachute system, the Beaupre Multi-Stage Parachute, would solve the problem of high altitude escape by crewmen. In December 1962, under Project Star Gazer, Kittiger piloted a balloon into the upper atmosphere accompanied by U.S. Navy civilian astronomer to use a high powered telescope to view regions of deep space. They stay aloft for 18.5 hours above the skies of southwestern New Mexico.

Kittinger also volunteered for three combat tours in Vietnam and served as commander of the famous 555th "Triple Nickel" Tactical Fighter Squadron flying F-4s. After shooting down a MiG-21 in aerial combat, he himself was shot down on May 11, 1972 and spent 11 months as a prisoner of war. Kittinger subsequently continued his career and retired as a colonel in 1978.

After retiring, Kittinger remained active in ballooning. In 1984, at age 56, he traveled more than 3,500 miles at altitudes between 10,000 and 17,000 feet, crash-landing in northern Italy, setting a record for the longest solo balloon flight, both in time and distance.

He has received numerous awards for solo transatlantic balloon flights, and he is the author of several articles about his 1960 leap for various publications, including the "The Long, Lonely Leap." Kittinger is also the subject of a new Naval Institute book, "The Pre-Astronauts."

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