In 1959, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Kittinger jumped from a high-altitude stratostat to Earth from a height of more than 76,000 feet. On the way down, the parachute stabilizer opened ahead of time and turned around its neck. In an unconscious state, he fell at a speed of 120 revolutions per minute, until his main parachute opened and saved his life.
This is just one of many examples of dangerous situations that Kittinger encountered on his way to setting a high jump record in 1960, when he jumped from a height of 102,800 feet. His record was kept as much as 52 years. As Kittinger Discovery News said, the Air Force's aeronautical programs were not made to set records. They were primarily focused on science, helping aviators and astronauts to survive at high altitude.
“In order to embody all these types of interesting programs, you need three elements: confidence in your team, confidence in your equipment, and confidence in yourself,” Kittinger told Discovery News in an interview. - If any element is missing, then you are in trouble. By participating in all these programs, I was sure that I would return alive. I had extensive training, and was convinced that at that height I would be in a safe state. ”
Kittinger prepares for the Excelsior project in August 1957. Kittinger, who will be shown on March 1 in the PBS documentary “Space Men” (“Space Men”), has been a fan of John Stapp's research since the beginning of his career in the Air Force. Stapp tried to test prototypes of oxygen systems on himself in untight airplanes and flew in parabolic airplanes (predecessors of “Vomit Comet”) in order to experience a state of weightlessness. Perhaps the most famous test was when Stupp scored record speeds on rocket sleds, measuring acceleration and deceleration on a person. More revealingly, Stapp did his research in the 1950s, even before the first satellite was launched into space and long before the 1960s, when people broke through abroad.
“Dr. Stapp was one of the few leaders in the medical profession who believed that we were going to go into space,” Kittinger said. - Nobody ever seriously thought that we could do it and Stapp turned out to be a visionary. There were certain moments that were important for us to develop a cosmonaut protection system. ”
Kittinger voluntarily became a member of the next project of Stapp - Manhigh. The goal was to immerse a person on Wednesday as close as possible to space. This was a small closed space, namely the gondola under the high-altitude balloon. It is also intended to provide an opportunity for evacuation from the gondola when the balloon reaches the desired height. According to Kittinger, the results were used by NASA when they developed the Mercury project. Manhigh conducted three flights at an altitude of 100,000 feet, breaking the previous record (about 42,000 feet). Kittinger participated in one flight, and then made three balloon flights on the Excelsior program, which was the most deadly step in history. “I jumped into the unknown,” Kittinger said, “but I was confident in Dr. Stapp’s equipment and crew and a small stabilizing parachute, which we designed to provide a means of salvation.” (The same design is used in capsule means now.)
Kittinger's career in aeronautics continued for many years, but did not have such fame. The Stargazer project was his last project in the aeronautics of the Air Force, where he and astronomer Williams White made hour-long observations with the 12.5-inch Cassagren telescope at an altitude of 87,000 feet. They compared how the stars look in the zone without atmosphere with simultaneous ground-based observations of the same objects. Kittinger said the project was a kind of prelude to the Hubble Space Telescope and others like it. The project was canceled when Stapp resigned.
Baumgartner jump video:
After three terms of service during the Vietnam War (including 11 months as a prisoner of war), Kittinger remained in the Air Force until 1978. Then his balloon race started, where he won three times in the 1980s. In addition, he was the first person to fly around the Atlantic Ocean in 1984 between Caribou (Maine) and Cairo Montenotte (Italy). Despite his isolation, Kittinger said that he did not have too much free time to even think about being alone. “I was too busy. I needed to control the ball, all systems, watch the weather. Flying over the ocean, I slept only 2.5 hours. ”
Kittinger helped Baumgartner jump in 2012 at the age of 84, choosing only him and another Red Bull team because they were pursuing scientific goals. The rest he refused. The program was aimed at developing the best spacesuit for work in space. The fall of Baumgartner was registered with physiological equipment 50 years more advanced than the one used by Kittinger.
“Not only did Felix set a new record for height and speed, but also we received a new achievement in accordance with the human factor,” said Kittinger.
