Leanne
February 1st 04, 12:07 AM
This was sent to by an old friend this evening.
Leanne
Subject: good story/interview
Joe Kittinger is not a household aviation name like Neil
Armstrong or
Chuck Yeager. But what he did for the U.S. space program is
comparable.
On Aug. 16, 1960, as research for the then- fledgling U.S. space
program, Air
Force Captain Joseph Kittinger rode a helium balloon to the
edge of
space, 102,800 feet above the earth, a feat in itself. Then,
wearing
just a thin pressure suit and breathing supplemental oxygen, he
leaned over the cramped confines of his gondola and
jumped--into the
110-degree-below- zero, near- vacuum of space.
Within seconds his body accelerated to 714 mph in the thin
air,
breaking the sound barrier. After free- falling for more than
four
and a half minutes, slowed finally by friction from the heavier
air
below, he felt his parachute open at 14,000 feet, and he
coasted
gently down to the New Mexico desert floor. Kittinger's feat
showed scientists that astronauts could survive the harshness
of
space with just a pressure suit and that man could eject from
aircraft at extreme altitudes and survive. Upon Kittinger's
return to
base, a congratulatory telegram was waiting from the Mercury
Seven
astronauts--including Alan Shepard and John Glenn. More than
four
decades later Kittinger's two world records--the highest
parachute
jump, and the only man to break the sound barrier without a
craft and
live--still stand. We decided to visit the retired colonel and
Aviation Hall of Famer, now 75, at his home in Altamonte
Springs,
Florida, to recall his historic jump.
FORBES GLOBAL: Take us back to New Mexico and Aug.16, 1960.
JOE KITTINGER: We got up at2 a.m. to start filling the helium
balloon. At sea level, it was 35 to 40 feet wide and 200 feet
high;
at altitude, due to the low air pressure, it expanded to 25
stories
in width, and still was 20 stories high! At 4 a.m. I began
breathing
pure oxygen for two hours. That's how long it takes to remove
all the
nitrogen from your blood so you don't get the bends going so
high so
fast. Then it was a lengthy dress procedure layering warm
clothing
under my pressure suit. They kept me in air- conditioning until
it
was time to launch because we were in the desert and I wasn't
supposed to sweat. If I did, my clothes would freeze on the way
up.
FORBES GLOBAL: How was your ascent?
JOE KITTINGER: It took an hour and a half to get to altitude.
It was
cold. At 40,000 feet, the glove on my right hand hadn't
inflated. I
knew that if I radioed my doctor, he would abort the flight. If
that
happened, I knew I might never get another chance because there
were
lots of people who didn't want this test to happen. I took a
calculated risk, that I might lose use of my right hand. It
quickly
swelled up, and I did lose use for the duration of the flight.
But
the rest of the pressure suit worked. When I reached 102,800
feet,
maximum altitude, I wasn't quite over the target. So I drifted
for 11
minutes. The winds were out of the east.
FORBES GLOBAL: What's it look like from so high up?
JOE KITTINGER: You can see about 400 miles in every direction.
The
most fascinating thing is that it's just black overhead--the
transition from normal blue to black is very stark. You can't
see
stars because there's a lot of glare from the sun, so your
pupils are
too small. I was struck with the beauty of it. But I was also
struck
by how hostile it is: more than 100 degrees below zero, no air.
If my
protection suit failed, I would be dead in a few seconds. Blood
actually boils above 62,000 feet. I went through my 46-step
checklist, disconnected from the balloon's power supply and
lost all
communication with the ground. I was totally under power from
the kit
on my back. When everything was done, I stood up, turned around
to
the door, took one final look out and said a silent prayer:
"Lord,
take care of me now." Then I just jumped over the side.
FORBES GLOBAL: What were you thinking as you took that step?
JOE KITTINGER: It's the beginning of a test. I had gone
through
simulations many times--more than 100. I rolled over and looked
up,
and there was the balloon just roaring into space.
I realized that the balloon wasn't roaring into space; I was
going
down at a fantastic rate! At about 90,000 feet, I reached 714
mph.
The altimeter on my wrist was unwinding very rapidly. But there
was
no sense of speed. Where you determine speed is visual--if you
see
something go flashing by. But nothing flashes by 20 miles
up--there
are no signposts there, and you are way above any clouds. When
the
chute opened, the rest of the jump was anticlimactic because
everything had worked perfectly. I landed 12 or 13 minutes
later,
and there was my crew waiting. We were elated.
FORBES GLOBAL: How about your right hand?
JOE KITTINGER: It hurt--there was quite a bit of
swelling and the blood pressure in my arm was high.
But that went away in a few days, and I regained full
use of my hand.
FORBES GLOBAL: What about attempts to break your
record?
JOE KITTINGER: We did it for air crews and astronauts--for the
learning, not to set a record. They will be going up as
skydivers.
Somebody will beat it someday. Records are made to be busted.
And
I'll be elated. But I'll also be concerned that they're properly
trained. If they're not, they're taking a heck of a risk.
Columnist Jim Clash is author of To the Limits (John Wiley
&Sons,
2003) and a Fellow at the Explorers Club.
Leanne
Subject: good story/interview
Joe Kittinger is not a household aviation name like Neil
Armstrong or
Chuck Yeager. But what he did for the U.S. space program is
comparable.
On Aug. 16, 1960, as research for the then- fledgling U.S. space
program, Air
Force Captain Joseph Kittinger rode a helium balloon to the
edge of
space, 102,800 feet above the earth, a feat in itself. Then,
wearing
just a thin pressure suit and breathing supplemental oxygen, he
leaned over the cramped confines of his gondola and
jumped--into the
110-degree-below- zero, near- vacuum of space.
Within seconds his body accelerated to 714 mph in the thin
air,
breaking the sound barrier. After free- falling for more than
four
and a half minutes, slowed finally by friction from the heavier
air
below, he felt his parachute open at 14,000 feet, and he
coasted
gently down to the New Mexico desert floor. Kittinger's feat
showed scientists that astronauts could survive the harshness
of
space with just a pressure suit and that man could eject from
aircraft at extreme altitudes and survive. Upon Kittinger's
return to
base, a congratulatory telegram was waiting from the Mercury
Seven
astronauts--including Alan Shepard and John Glenn. More than
four
decades later Kittinger's two world records--the highest
parachute
jump, and the only man to break the sound barrier without a
craft and
live--still stand. We decided to visit the retired colonel and
Aviation Hall of Famer, now 75, at his home in Altamonte
Springs,
Florida, to recall his historic jump.
FORBES GLOBAL: Take us back to New Mexico and Aug.16, 1960.
JOE KITTINGER: We got up at2 a.m. to start filling the helium
balloon. At sea level, it was 35 to 40 feet wide and 200 feet
high;
at altitude, due to the low air pressure, it expanded to 25
stories
in width, and still was 20 stories high! At 4 a.m. I began
breathing
pure oxygen for two hours. That's how long it takes to remove
all the
nitrogen from your blood so you don't get the bends going so
high so
fast. Then it was a lengthy dress procedure layering warm
clothing
under my pressure suit. They kept me in air- conditioning until
it
was time to launch because we were in the desert and I wasn't
supposed to sweat. If I did, my clothes would freeze on the way
up.
FORBES GLOBAL: How was your ascent?
JOE KITTINGER: It took an hour and a half to get to altitude.
It was
cold. At 40,000 feet, the glove on my right hand hadn't
inflated. I
knew that if I radioed my doctor, he would abort the flight. If
that
happened, I knew I might never get another chance because there
were
lots of people who didn't want this test to happen. I took a
calculated risk, that I might lose use of my right hand. It
quickly
swelled up, and I did lose use for the duration of the flight.
But
the rest of the pressure suit worked. When I reached 102,800
feet,
maximum altitude, I wasn't quite over the target. So I drifted
for 11
minutes. The winds were out of the east.
FORBES GLOBAL: What's it look like from so high up?
JOE KITTINGER: You can see about 400 miles in every direction.
The
most fascinating thing is that it's just black overhead--the
transition from normal blue to black is very stark. You can't
see
stars because there's a lot of glare from the sun, so your
pupils are
too small. I was struck with the beauty of it. But I was also
struck
by how hostile it is: more than 100 degrees below zero, no air.
If my
protection suit failed, I would be dead in a few seconds. Blood
actually boils above 62,000 feet. I went through my 46-step
checklist, disconnected from the balloon's power supply and
lost all
communication with the ground. I was totally under power from
the kit
on my back. When everything was done, I stood up, turned around
to
the door, took one final look out and said a silent prayer:
"Lord,
take care of me now." Then I just jumped over the side.
FORBES GLOBAL: What were you thinking as you took that step?
JOE KITTINGER: It's the beginning of a test. I had gone
through
simulations many times--more than 100. I rolled over and looked
up,
and there was the balloon just roaring into space.
I realized that the balloon wasn't roaring into space; I was
going
down at a fantastic rate! At about 90,000 feet, I reached 714
mph.
The altimeter on my wrist was unwinding very rapidly. But there
was
no sense of speed. Where you determine speed is visual--if you
see
something go flashing by. But nothing flashes by 20 miles
up--there
are no signposts there, and you are way above any clouds. When
the
chute opened, the rest of the jump was anticlimactic because
everything had worked perfectly. I landed 12 or 13 minutes
later,
and there was my crew waiting. We were elated.
FORBES GLOBAL: How about your right hand?
JOE KITTINGER: It hurt--there was quite a bit of
swelling and the blood pressure in my arm was high.
But that went away in a few days, and I regained full
use of my hand.
FORBES GLOBAL: What about attempts to break your
record?
JOE KITTINGER: We did it for air crews and astronauts--for the
learning, not to set a record. They will be going up as
skydivers.
Somebody will beat it someday. Records are made to be busted.
And
I'll be elated. But I'll also be concerned that they're properly
trained. If they're not, they're taking a heck of a risk.
Columnist Jim Clash is author of To the Limits (John Wiley
&Sons,
2003) and a Fellow at the Explorers Club.