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311:.) He decided not to inform the ground crew about this, in case they should decide to abort the test. Despite temporarily losing the use of his right hand, he continued with the ascent, climbing to an altitude of 102,800 feet (31,333 m). The ascent took one hour and 31 minutes and broke the previous crewed balloon altitude record of 101,516 feet (30,942 m), which was set by
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speed of 614 miles per hour (988 km/h). For context, a free-falling average human body moves at a velocity of 240–290 km/h. At an altitude of 17,500 feet (5,334 m), Kittinger opened his main parachute and landed safely in the New Mexico desert. The whole descent took 13 minutes and 45 seconds and set a world record for the highest parachute jump.
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The first test, Excelsior I, was made on
November 16, 1959. Kittinger ascended in the gondola and jumped from an altitude of 76,400 feet (23,287 m). In this first test, the stabilizer parachute was deployed too soon, catching Kittinger around the neck and causing him to spin at 120 revolutions
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The small stabilizer parachute deployed successfully and
Kittinger fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds, setting a long-standing world record for the longest free-fall. During the descent, Kittinger experienced temperatures as low as −94 °F (−70 °C). In the free-fall stage, he reached a top
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An hour and thirty-one minutes after launch, my pressure altimeter halts at 103,300 feet. At ground control the radar altimeters also have stopped-on readings of 102,800 feet, the figure that we later agree upon as the more reliable. It is 7 o'clock in the morning, and I have reached float
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Despite this near-disaster on the first test, Kittinger went ahead with another test only three weeks later. The second test, Excelsior II, was made on
December 11, 1959. This time, Kittinger jumped from an altitude of 74,700 feet (22,769 m) and descended in free-fall for 55,000 feet
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The third and final test, Excelsior III, was made on August 16, 1960. During the ascent, the pressure seal in
Kittinger's right glove failed, and he began to experience severe pain in his right hand from the exposure of his hand to the extreme low pressure. (See
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altitude ... Though my stabilization chute opens at 96,000 feet, I accelerate for 6,000 feet more before hitting a peak of 614 miles an hour, nine-tenths the speed of sound at my altitude.
286:. Captain Joseph Kittinger, who was test director for the project, made three ascents and test jumps. As the gondola was unpressurized, Kittinger wore a modified David Clark MC-3A partial
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in 1957. Kittinger stayed at peak altitude for 12 minutes, waiting for the balloon to drift over the landing target area. He then stepped out of the gondola to begin his descent.
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during these tests, plus additional layers of clothing to protect him from the extreme cold at high altitude. Together with the parachute system, this almost doubled his weight.
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Project
Excelsior was initiated in 1958 to design a parachute system that would allow a safe, controlled descent after a high-altitude ejection. Francis Beaupre, a technician at
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per minute. This caused
Kittinger to lose consciousness, but his life was saved by his main parachute which opened automatically at a height of 10,000 feet (3,048 m).
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who in 2014 jumped from 135,889 feet (41,419 m) and had a 123,334 foot (37,592 m) freefall with a drogue chute which exceeds both of Joseph
Kittinger's records.
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As jet planes flew higher and faster in the 1950s, the Air Force became increasingly worried about the safety of flight crews who had to eject at high altitude. Tests in
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project, with
Kittinger serving as a technical advisor to Baumgartner. Kittinger does, however, still hold the records for longest drogue fall and longest freefall.
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A ground crew assists Joe
Kittinger in removing his flight gear after the successful flight of Excelsior III. Despite the appearances, Kittinger was fine.
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Kittinger's efforts during
Project Excelsior proved that it was possible for an air crew to descend safely after ejecting at high altitudes. President
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that would automatically deploy both parachutes at the correct points in the descent, even if the parachutist were unconscious or disabled.
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Kittinger held the world records for highest parachute jump and highest speed of a human in atmosphere until October 14, 2012 when
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Col. Joe Kittinger speaks at the Kircher Society Meeting - Video Pt1 - featuring an extended Project Excelsior Video
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at a rate of up to 200 revolutions per minute (about 3.3 revolutions per second). This would be potentially fatal.
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A plaque attached below the open door of the Excelsior III gondola read, "This is the highest step in the world".
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Comparison of approximate altitudes of various objects and successful stratospheric jumps, and a graph of
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Tim Friend (1998-08-18). "Out of thin air His free fall from 32 km (20 mi) put NASA on firm footing".
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system intended to be used by pilots ejecting from high altitude. In one of these jumps Kittinger set
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with a capacity of nearly 3,000,000 cubic feet (85,000 m) that could lift an open gondola and
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Burkhard Bilger, Our Far-Flung Correspondents, "Falling," The New Yorker, August 13, 2007, p. 58
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jumped from 127,852 feet (38,969 m) and reaching a speed of 377.12 m/s as part of the
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Jeffrey S. Hampton (2003-12-15). "'Hero of Aviation' speaks about record-setting free fall".
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To test the parachute system, staff at Wright Field built a 200 ft (61 m) high
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next to the Excelsior gondola. The plaque reads "This Is The Highest Step In The World"
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project in 2012, though he still holds the world record for longest time in free fall.
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for his work on Excelsior. Kittinger also received an oak leaf cluster to the
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Helium balloon with open gondola (the aeronaut was wearing a pressure suit)
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Col. Joe Kittinger speaks at the Kircher Society Meeting - Video Pt3
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Col. Joe Kittinger speaks at the Kircher Society Meeting - Video Pt2
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589:"Space Men: They were the first to brave the unknown (Transcript)"
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Timothy R. Gaffney (2002-08-12). "Kittinger's long, lonely leap".
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The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space
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Joseph W. Kittinger (December 1960). "The Long, Lonely Leap".
734:"Joseph W. Kittinger and the Highest Step in the World"
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National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Excelsior page
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Wingfoot Lighter-Than-Air Society Achievement Award
303:(16,764 m) before opening his main parachute.
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
805:is available for free viewing and download at the
762:Details of the Excelsior III flight -The Big Jump-
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217:. The purpose was to test the Beaupre multi-stage
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615:"Speed Skydiving | World Air Sports Federation"
401:National Museum of the United States Air Force
213:in 1959 and 1960 from helium balloons in the
399:Replica of the Excelsior III gondola at the
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16:United States Air Force parachuting project
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747:U.S. Air Force Footage of Excelsior Tests
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163:Test of parachute for high altitude falls
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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205:was a series of parachute jumps made by
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253:at high altitude would often go into a
192:Altitude: 19.47 mi (31.33 km)
828:Military projects of the United States
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497:"World Record Jump | Red Bull Stratos"
249:with dummies had shown that a body in
793:Excelsior III - the Long, Lonely Leap
722:(Joseph W. Kittinger's autobiography)
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47:adding citations to reliable sources
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194:Speed: 614 mph (988 km/h)
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757:Details of the Excelsior II flight
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135:Final jump seen from Excelsior III
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752:Details of the Excelsior I flight
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418:International Standard Atmosphere
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767:Interview with Joseph Kittinger
736:. Greg Kennedy. March 17, 2010.
625:from the original on 2023-10-03
436:, the J.J. Jeffries Award, the
34:needs additional citations for
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522:"Dressing for Altitude | NASA"
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438:A. Leo Stevens Parachute Medal
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712:Kittinger, Joseph (1961).
434:Distinguished Flying Cross
225:for the longest parachute
155:over the New Mexico desert
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375:Film of the historic jump
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772:The Highest Step - video
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211:United States Air Force
144:1959–1960 (three jumps)
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714:The Long, Lonely Leap
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833:Military parachuting
738:On Stratocat website
685:Ryan, Craig (1995).
426:Dwight D. Eisenhower
262:Wright-Patterson AFB
43:improve this article
664:. pp. 854–873.
662:National Geographic
595:. PBS. 1 March 2016
593:American Experience
571:The Virginian-Pilot
247:Operation High Dive
196:Duration: 13 m 45 s
58:"Project Excelsior"
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313:Major David Simons
551:Dayton Daily News
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337:Felix Baumgartner
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527:. NASA. 2012
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505:. Retrieved
503:. 2012-10-17
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477:Space diving
454:Alan Eustace
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99:October 2012
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41:Please help
36:verification
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315:as part of
227:drogue fall
823:Ballooning
817:Categories
673:References
629:2023-10-03
531:2016-03-07
507:2015-08-16
440:, and the
294:Test jumps
280:test pilot
241:Background
69:newspapers
646:USA Today
599:2 January
282:into the
255:flat spin
251:free-fall
219:parachute
802:Balloons
623:Archived
448:See also
408:Response
176:Aeronaut
141:Duration
276:balloon
233:of the
209:of the
187:Records
168:Vehicle
160:Purpose
83:scholar
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273:helium
149:Places
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525:(PDF)
483:Notes
90:JSTOR
76:books
691:ISBN
601:2019
62:news
45:by
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