fuddmain

mills:

Via theministryoftruth (from Benjamin Hilts):

THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (for reals!)

“In 1960, U.S. Air Force pilot Joe Kittinger flew 30km straight up into the sky using a pressurized, high-altitude balloon. This very nearly made him the first man in space. He then jumped. Kittinger free-fell for over twenty kilometers – at which point he was moving so fast he broke the sound barrier… And of course there is a video.

The video is beautiful, as is the entire idea; he couldn’t tell he was falling unless he looked at the receding balloon. The film shows how far into the darkness beyond the atmosphere he seems to be; it’s just stunning.

Kittinger definitely has a brass pair.  He’s lived here in Orlando for years.  The last time I visited the Orange County Historical Musuem, in downtown Orlando, I was greatly dissappointed to see his name was not mentioned anywhere in the Aerospace section.