Arguably the first man in space

[martianfencer]

In 1960, Joe Kittinger rode a balloon to 31 km (nearly 20 miles) altitude, and then JUMPED. He was the first human being to reach the speed of sound without a jet. He holds the record for the highest-altitude parachute jump, the highest balloon ascent, and the longest free-fall jump (though that's contentious because he used a drogue parachute for

Comments

[kahnegabs]

WELL it says "gravity did him no harm at all" during his fall. I'm kind of wondering about the landing, which it doesn't mention.

Can you imagine the guts that would take? No fear!

Did it say how long it took to land? Apparently he's still living, but I don't see any info about the duration of his flight.

Boy if that shute had broken he'd have made quite a hole in the earth, I think.

[cvirtue]

"he'd have made quite a hole in the earth, I think."

Possibly more than one!

[martianfencer]

Yeah, that's known as "Rest in Pieces."

[martianfencer]

Wikipedia says the free fall part was 4 minutes & 36 seconds, but I don't see a figure for the total time.

I found contemporary newsclip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNx7OH_QXzc