Kittinger's record-breaking skydive Project Excelsior was a series of high-altitude parachute jumps made by Captain (later Colonel) Joseph Kittinger of the United States Air Force in 1959 and 1960 to test the Beaupre multi-stage parachute system. In one of these jumps Kittinger set world records for the highest parachute jump and the longest parachute freefall, both of which still stand (as of 2007). Image File history File links Joseph Kittingers record-breaking skydive Picture is from the US Air Force, and therefore in the public domain. ...
Image File history File links Joseph Kittingers record-breaking skydive Picture is from the US Air Force, and therefore in the public domain. ...
Joseph W. Kittinger II (born 1928) Kittinger next to the Excelsior gondola Joseph William Kittinger II (born July 27, 1928) is a former pilot and career military officer in the United States Air Force. ...
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the United States armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services. ...
Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The Apollo 15 capsule landed safely despite a parachute failure. ...
A world record is the best performance in a certain discipline, usually a sports event. ...
2007 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
History
Background As jet planes flew higher and faster in the 1950s, the USAF became increasingly worried about the safety of flight crew who had to eject at high altitude. Tests with dummies had shown that a body in free-fall at high altitude would often go into a flat spin at a rate of up to 200 revolutions per minute. This would be potentially fatal. Joseph Kittinger next to the Excelsior gondola on June 02, 1957 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...
Joseph Kittinger next to the Excelsior gondola on June 02, 1957 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...
Joseph W. Kittinger II (born 1928) Kittinger next to the Excelsior gondola Joseph William Kittinger II (born July 27, 1928) is a former pilot and career military officer in the United States Air Force. ...
This does not cite any references or sources. ...
Free Fall opens with one of the most stunning first paragraphs I have ever, or am ever likely to, read. ...
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 Wright Field, Ohio, devised a multi-stage parachute system to facilitate manned tests. This consisted of a small 6 ft (2 m) stabilizer parachute designed to prevent uncontrolled spinning at high altitudes, and a 28 ft (8.5 m) main parachute that deployed at a lower altitude. The system included timers and altitude sensors that automatically deployed both parachutes at the correct point in the descent. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties, adjacent to Fairborn and Dayton, Ohio. ...
Diagram showing the face of a three-pointer sensitive aircraft altimeter displaying altitude in feet. ...
To test the parachute system, staff at Wright Field built a 200 ft (61 m) high helium balloon with a capacity of nearly 3 million cubic feet (85,000 m³) which could lift an open gondola and test pilot into the stratosphere. Kittinger, who was test director for the project, made three ascents and test jumps. As the gondola was unpressurized, Kittinger had to wear a full pressure suit during these tests, plus additional layers of clothing to protect him from the extreme cold at high altitude, and the parachute system itself. This almost doubled his weight. General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Standard atomic weight 4. ...
A hot air balloon is prepared for flight by inflation of the envelope with propane burners A hot air balloon takes off The balloon has just landed and is being pulled nearer to a road for deflation A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its...
Test pilots are aviators who fly new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated. ...
Atmosphere diagram showing stratosphere. ...
Gordon Cooper in a helmet and pressure suit, A pressure suit is a pressurized suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly so high that even breathing pure oxygen at surrounding pressure would not provide enough oxygen for them to function: see hypoxia. ...
Test jumps The first test, Excelsior I, was made on November 16, 1959. Kittinger ascended in the gondola and jumped from an altitude of 76,400 ft (23,300 m). In this first test the stabilizer chute was deployed too soon, catching Kittinger around the neck and causing him to spin at 120 revolutions per minute. This caused Kittinger to lose consciousness, but his life was saved by his main chute which opened automatically at a height of 10,000 ft (3,000 m). November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 45 days remaining. ...
Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
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 ft (22,800 m) and descended in free-fall for 55,000 ft (16,800 m) before opening his main chute. December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Excelsior III gondola at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force 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. 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 39.6 km. The ascent took one hour and 31 minutes, and broke the previous manned balloon altitude record of 101,516 ft (30,942 m), which was set by Major David Simons as part of Project Manhigh 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. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 478 × 600 pixels Full resolution (726 × 911 pixel, file size: 82 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Excelsior Gondola at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. ...
Image File history File links Size of this preview: 478 × 600 pixels Full resolution (726 × 911 pixel, file size: 82 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Excelsior Gondola at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. ...
is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Manhigh 2 gondola Project Manhigh along with Project Excelsior was a pre space-age military project that brought men in balloons to the upper layers of the earths atmosphere. ...
Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ...
The small stabilizer chute deployed successfully and Kittinger fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds, setting a still-standing world record for the longest parachute free-fall (although some authorities do not count this as a free-fall record because of the use of the stabilizer chute). At an altitude of 17,500 ft (5,300 m) Kittinger opened his main chute and landed safely in the New Mexico desert. The whole descent took 13 minutes and 45 seconds, and set the current world record for the highest parachute jump.
During the descent, Kittinger experienced temperatures as low as −94 degrees Fahrenheit (−70 degrees Celsius). In the free-fall stage he reached a top speed that is variously estimated as 214mph or 250 mph in later interviews, Kittinger put his top speed at 314 mph. As the speed of sound is lower in the upper atmosphere than at ground level, this means he was traveling at transonic, and perhaps supersonic, speeds. Despite this, Kittinger said he had no sensation of speed until he approached the cloud deck. Transonic is an aeronautics term referring to a range of velocities just below and above the speed of sound. ...
A United States Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in transonic flight. ...
A plaque attached below the open door of the Excelsior III gondola read "This is the highest step in the world".
Response Kittinger's efforts during project Excelsior proved that it was possible for air crew to descend safely after ejecting at high altitudes. For his work on Excelsior, President Dwight D. Eisenhower awarded Kittinger the C.B Harmon Trophy. He also received an oak leaf cluster to the Distinguished Flying Cross, the J.J. Jeffries Award, the Leo Stevens Parachute Medal, and the Wingfoot Lighter-Than-Air Society Achievement Award. Dwight David Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American General and politician, who served as the thirty-fourth President of the United States (1953–1961). ...
The Harmon Aviator Trophy The Harmon Aviatrix Trophy The Harmon Trophy is a set of three international trophies, to be awarded annually to the worlds outstanding aviator, aviatrix (female aviator), and aeronaut (balloon or dirigible). ...
The Distinguished Flying Cross. ...
References - Ryan, Craig (1995). The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-732-5.
See also Operation High Dive was a top secret project carried out during the 1950s by the USAF. It was designed to test high altitude parachutes using anthropomorphic dummies. ...
Manhigh 2 gondola Project Manhigh along with Project Excelsior was a pre space-age military project that brought men in balloons to the upper layers of the earths atmosphere. ...
Le Grand Saut is a project led by Michel Fournier, a retired French Air Force colonel, to break the altitude world records for free fall, balloon flight, longest free fall, and freefall velocity, by ascending in a small gondola lifted by a helium balloon, and then jumping out at a...
External links - National Museum of the US Air Force Excelsior page
- Details of the Excelsior I flight
- Details of the Excelsior II flight
- Details of the Excelsior III flight -The Big Jump-
- Interview with Joseph Kittinger
- Boards of Canada "Dayvan Cowboy" music video, featuring footage of one of the jumps
- The Highest Step - video
- Col. Joe Kittinger speaks at the Kircher Society Meeting - Video Pt1 - featuring an extended Project Excelsior Video
- Col. Joe Kittinger speaks at the Kircher Society Meeting - Video Pt2
- Col. Joe Kittinger speaks at the Kircher Society Meeting - Video Pt3
- "Excelsior III - the Long, Lonely Leap" painting by Stuart Brown.
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