Thursday, April 13, 2006

The Real First Man In Space: Joe Kittinger

Joseph Kittinger's record-breaking skydive.
Image source: Wikipedia

Via CBS News.

Few people know it, but the first man in space wasn't an astronaut. It was test pilot Joe Kittinger.

In 1960, the little-known pioneer was part of an U.S. Air Force project called Excelsior, which was designed to test the effects of space on human beings — and, more important, to determine whether an astronaut could survive an aborted mission, even at 20 miles above the earth.

Kittinger had the right stuff. He traveled all the way into space via balloon — then jumped out.

More here.

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