Editing Joseph Kittinger (section)

==Project Excelsior==
{{Main|Project Excelsior}}
Captain Kittinger was next assigned to the [[311th Human Systems Wing|Aerospace Medical Research Laboratories]] at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base|Wright-Patterson AFB]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]]. For ''Project Excelsior'' (meaning "ever upward"), a name given to the project by Colonel Stapp as part of research into [[high-altitude]] bailouts,<ref name=afnationalmuseum>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=562 |title=Factsheets: Excelsior Gondola |publisher=National Museum of the USAF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331012902/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=562 |archive-date=March 31, 2010}}</ref> he made a series of three extreme altitude [[parachute]] jumps from an open gondola carried aloft by large helium balloons. These jumps were made in a "rocking-chair" position, descending on his back, rather than in the usual face-down position familiar to skydivers.<!--then why does the photo show him face-down?--> This was because he was wearing a {{convert|60|lb|abbr=on}} "kit" on his behind, and his [[pressure suit]] naturally formed a sitting shape when it was inflated, a shape appropriate for sitting in an airplane cockpit.<ref name=afnationalmuseum/>

''Excelsior I'': Kittinger's first high-altitude jump, from about {{convert|76,400|ft|m}} on November 16, 1959, was a near-disaster when an equipment malfunction caused him to lose consciousness.<ref name=supersonic/> The automatic parachute opener in his equipment saved his life. He went into a [[Flat spin (aviation)|flat spin]] at a rotational velocity of about 120 [[Revolutions per minute|rpm]], the [[g-force]]s at his extremities having been calculated to be over 22 times the force of gravity, setting another record.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sites.google.com/a/rams.colostate.edu/the-edge-of-engineering/ |title=The Edge of Engineering |access-date=December 9, 2022 |archive-date=October 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009083301/https://sites.google.com/a/rams.colostate.edu/the-edge-of-engineering/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Excelsior II'': On December 11, 1959, Kittinger jumped again from about {{convert|74,700|ft|m}}. For this leap, he was awarded the [[A. Leo Stevens Parachute Medal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aero.com/publications/parachutes/9601/pc0196.htm |title=The A. Leo Stevens Parachute Medal: A Baker's Dozen of Early Recipients |date=August 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20101125063836/http://aero.com/publications/parachutes/9601/pc0196.htm |archive-date=November 25, 2010}}</ref>

''Excelsior III'': On August 16, 1960, Kittinger made the final high-altitude jump at {{convert|102800|ft|m}}.<ref name=supersonic>{{cite news |author=John Tierney |title=A Supersonic Jump, From 23 Miles in the Air |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/science/16tier.html?src=me&ref=general |quote=In 1960, Kittinger, then a 32-year-old air force pilot, jumped from a balloon 102,800 feet above the New Mexico desert. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=March 15, 2010 |access-date=March 17, 2010 |author-link=John Tierney (journalist) |archive-date=March 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100318060552/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/science/16tier.html?src=me&ref=general |url-status=live }}</ref> Towing a small [[drogue parachute]] for initial stabilization, he fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of {{convert|614|mph}}<ref name=afnationalmuseum/><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://mlsandy.home.tsixroads.com/Corinth_MLSANDY/jk004.html |title=Fantastic catch in the sky, record leap toward earth |magazine=Life |date=August 29, 1960 |access-date=November 16, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201123600/http://mlsandy.home.tsixroads.com/Corinth_MLSANDY/jk004.html |archive-date=December 1, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> before opening his parachute at {{convert|18000|ft|m}}. Incurring yet another equipment malfunction, the pressurization for his right glove malfunctioned during the ascent and his right hand swelled to twice its normal size,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/sports/othersports/24jump.html |title=20-Year Journey for 15-Minute Fall |first=Matt |last=Higgins |date=May 24, 2008 |work=New York Times |access-date=December 9, 2022 |archive-date=August 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829231744/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/sports/othersports/24jump.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Paterson">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/faster-than-the-speed-of-sound-the-man-who-falls-to-earth-1877875.html |title=Faster than the speed of sound: the man who falls to earth |first=Tony |last=Paterson |date=January 25, 2010 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |access-date=January 18, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220617/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/faster-than-the-speed-of-sound-the-man-who-falls-to-earth-1877875.html |archive-date=June 17, 2022}}</ref> but he rode the balloon up to 102,800 feet before stepping off.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/us/felix-baumgartner-skydiving.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |title=Daredevil Jumps, and Lands on His Feet |first=John |last=Tierney |work=New York Times |date=October 14, 2012 |access-date=February 22, 2017 |archive-date=September 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920052538/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/us/felix-baumgartner-skydiving.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Quote box|align=right|quote=Lord, take care of me now.|source= — Kittinger, jumping from the balloon gondola ''Excelsior III'' at 102,800 feet<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nmspacemuseum.org/inductee/joseph-w-nkittinger/ |title=Joseph W. Kittinger |publisher=The International Space Hall of Fame |access-date=December 9, 2022 |archive-date=December 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209221011/https://www.nmspacemuseum.org/inductee/joseph-w-nkittinger/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} Of the jumps from ''Excelsior'', Kittinger said:<ref>{{cite web|work=[[Florida Trend]]|url=http://www.floridatrend.com/article/1935/icon-joseph-kittinger|title=Florida Icon: Joseph Kittinger|date=2011-05-31|access-date=October 15, 2012|archive-date=October 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018025124/http://www.floridatrend.com/article/1935/icon-joseph-kittinger|url-status=live}}</ref>
<blockquote>There's no way you can visualize the speed. There's nothing you can see to see how fast you're going. You have no depth perception. If you're in a car driving down the road and you close your eyes, you have no idea what your speed is. It's the same thing if you're free falling from space. There are no signposts. You know you are going very fast, but you don't feel it. You don't have a 614-mph wind blowing on you. I could only hear myself breathing in the helmet.</blockquote>

Kittinger set [[Flight altitude record|historical numbers]] for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest-duration drogue-fall (four minutes), and fastest speed by a human being through the atmosphere.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/eagles/kittnger.htm |title=Joseph W. Kittinger – USAF Museum Gathering of Eagles |access-date=2006-04-16 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050205062355/http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/eagles/kittnger.htm |archive-date=February 5, 2005 }}</ref> These were the USAF records, but were not submitted for aerospace world records to the {{lang|fr|[[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]]|italic=no}} (FAI).<ref>{{cite book|last=Kittinger|first=Joseph|title=Come Up and Get Me|year=2010|publisher=UNM Press|isbn=978-0-8263-4804-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zvnSSGvYSEoC&q=Kittinger+FAI&pg=PT106|access-date=January 12, 2021|archive-date=February 21, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221214725/https://books.google.com/books?id=zvnSSGvYSEoC&q=Kittinger+FAI&pg=PT106#v=snippet&q=Kittinger%20FAI&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Kittinger's record for the highest ascent was broken in 1961 by [[Malcolm Ross (balloonist)|Malcolm Ross]] and [[Victor Prather]]. His records for highest parachute jump and fastest velocity stood for 52 years, until they [[Red Bull Stratos|were broken]] in 2012 by [[Felix Baumgartner]].
[[File:Stargazer Gondola.jpg|thumb|right|''Stargazer'' gondola on display at the [[National Museum of the U.S. Air Force]]]]

For this series of jumps, Kittinger was profiled in ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine and the ''[[National Geographic Magazine]]'', decorated with a second [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]], and awarded the [[Harmon Trophy]] by President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/kittinger/DI29.htm |title=Joseph Kittinger, Jr. |publisher=U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission |access-date=2012-07-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609063217/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Dictionary/kittinger/DI29.htm |archive-date=2012-06-09 }}</ref>

Kittinger appeared as himself on the January 7, 1963 episode of the game show ''[[To Tell the Truth]]''. He received two votes.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/5CcaW-sDXpk Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200420120544/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CcaW-sDXpk&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web |title=To Tell the Truth |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CcaW-sDXpk&list=PL39ftvD_GHaEXJCry46G3_qp2-e_hkBXj |website=You Tube | date=July 22, 2016 |access-date=12 April 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>