View source for Project Excelsior

{{short description|United States Air Force parachuting project}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox
| above       = Project Excelsior
| image       = [[File:Kittinger-jump.jpg|220px]]
| caption     = Final jump seen from Excelsior III
| header1     =
| label1      = Duration
| data1       = 1959–1960 (three jumps)
| header2     =
| label2      = Places
| data2       = [[Stratosphere]] over the New Mexico desert
| header3     =
| label3      = Purpose
| data3       = Test of parachute for high altitude falls
| header4     =
| label4      = Vehicle
| data4       = Helium balloon with open gondola (the aeronaut was wearing a pressure suit)
| header5     =
| label5      = Aeronaut
| data5       = [[Joseph Kittinger|Joe Kittinger]] (Captain, USAF)
| header6     = 
| label6      = Records
| data6       = (Last jump, 16 August 1960):<br />Altitude: {{convert|19.47|mi|km|abbr=on}}<br />Speed: {{Convert|614|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}<br />Duration: 13 m 45 s <!-- If broken, please add: <br />(Stood until... ) ...all may not be broken at the same time-->
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}}

'''Project Excelsior''' was a series of parachute jumps made by [[Joseph Kittinger]] of the [[United States Air Force]] in 1959 and 1960 from helium balloons in the [[stratosphere]]. The purpose was to test the Beaupre multi-stage [[parachute]] system intended to be used by pilots ejecting from high altitude. In one of these jumps Kittinger set [[world record]]s for the longest parachute [[Drogue parachute|drogue fall]], the highest parachute jump, and the fastest speed by a human through the atmosphere. He held the latter two of these records for 52 years, until they were broken by [[Felix Baumgartner]] of the [[Red Bull Stratos]] project in 2012,<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.redbullstratos.com/the-mission/world-record-jump/|title = World Record Jump {{!}} Red Bull Stratos|date = 2012-10-17|access-date = 2015-08-16|website = Red Bull Stratos|last = |first = }}</ref> though he still holds the world record for longest time in free fall.

==Background==
As jet planes flew higher and faster in the 1950s, the Air Force became increasingly worried about the safety of flight crews who had to eject at high altitude. Tests in [[Operation High Dive]] with dummies had shown that a body in [[free-fall]] at high altitude would often go into a [[Flat spin (aviation)|flat spin]] at a rate of up to 200 revolutions per minute (about 3.3 revolutions per second). This would be potentially fatal.

Project Excelsior was initiated in 1958 to design a parachute system that would allow a safe, controlled descent after a high-altitude ejection. Francis Beaupre, a technician at [[Wright-Patterson AFB]], Ohio, devised a multi-stage parachute system to facilitate human tests. This consisted of a small {{Convert|6|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} diameter stabilizer or "drogue" parachute, designed to prevent uncontrolled spinning at high altitudes, and a {{Convert|28|ft|m|1 |abbr=on}} diameter main parachute that deployed at a lower altitude. The system included timers and [[altimeter|altitude sensors]] that would automatically deploy both parachutes at the correct points in the descent, even if the parachutist were unconscious or disabled.

To test the parachute system, staff at Wright Field built a {{Convert|200|ft|m|0|abbr=on}} high [[helium]] [[balloon (aircraft)|balloon]] with a capacity of nearly {{convert|3000000|ft3}} that could lift an open gondola and [[test pilot]] into the [[stratosphere]]. Captain Joseph Kittinger, who was test director for the project, made three ascents and test jumps. As the gondola was unpressurized, Kittinger wore a modified David Clark MC-3A partial [[pressure suit]] during these tests,<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/683215main_DressingAltitude-ebook.pdf|title = Dressing for Altitude {{!}} NASA |date = 2012|accessdate = 2016-03-07|publisher = NASA|last = |first = }}</ref> plus additional layers of clothing to protect him from the extreme cold at high altitude. Together with the parachute system, this almost doubled his weight.

==Test jumps==
The first test, Excelsior I, was made on November 16, 1959. Kittinger ascended in the gondola and jumped from an altitude of {{Convert|76400|ft|m|0}}.<ref name=Gaffney>{{cite news |author=Timothy R. Gaffney |title=Kittinger's long, lonely leap |work=[[Dayton Daily News]] |page=B1 |date=2002-08-12}}</ref> In this first test, the stabilizer parachute was deployed too soon, catching Kittinger around the neck and causing him to spin at 120 revolutions per minute. This caused Kittinger to lose consciousness, but his life was saved by his main parachute which opened automatically at a height of {{Convert|10000|ft|m|0}}.

Despite this near-disaster on the first test, Kittinger went ahead with another test only three weeks later. The second test, Excelsior II, was made on December 11, 1959. This time, Kittinger jumped from an altitude of {{Convert|74700|ft|m|0}} and descended in free-fall for {{Convert|55000|ft|m|0}} before opening his main parachute.<ref name=Gaffney/>

The third and final test, Excelsior III, was made on August 16, 1960. During the ascent, the pressure seal in Kittinger's right glove failed, and he began to experience severe pain in his right hand from the exposure of his hand to the extreme low pressure. (See [[Space exposure]].)   He decided not to inform the ground crew about this, in case they should decide to abort the test. Despite temporarily losing the use of his right hand, he continued with the ascent, climbing to an altitude of {{Convert|102800|ft|m|0}}.<ref name=Hampton>{{cite news |author=Jeffrey S. Hampton |title='Hero of Aviation' speaks about record-setting free fall |work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]] |page=Y1 |date=2003-12-15}}</ref> The ascent took one hour and 31 minutes and broke the previous crewed balloon altitude record of {{Convert|101516|ft|m|0}}, which was set by [[David G. Simons|Major David Simons]] as part of [[Project Manhigh]] in 1957.<ref name="AmExp">{{cite web |title=Space Men: They were the first to brave the unknown (Transcript) |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/spacemen/ |website=American Experience |publisher=PBS |accessdate=2 January 2019 |date=1 March 2016}}</ref> Kittinger stayed at peak altitude for 12 minutes, waiting for the balloon to drift over the landing target area. He then stepped out of the gondola to begin his descent.

The small stabilizer parachute deployed successfully and Kittinger fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds,<ref name=Hampton/> setting a long-standing world record for the longest free-fall. During the descent, Kittinger experienced temperatures as low as {{convert|-94|°F|°C|0}}. In the free-fall stage, he reached a top speed of {{Convert|614|mph|km/h|0}}. For context, a free-falling average human body moves at a velocity of 240–290 km/h.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-15 |title=Speed Skydiving {{!}} World Air Sports Federation |url=https://www.fai.org/page/isc-speed-skydiving |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003144301/https://www.fai.org/page/isc-speed-skydiving |archive-date=2023-10-03 |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=Speed Skydiving}}</ref> At an altitude of {{Convert|17500|ft|m|0}}, Kittinger opened his main parachute and landed safely in the New Mexico desert. The whole descent took 13 minutes and 45 seconds and set a world record for the highest parachute jump.<ref name=Friend>{{cite news |author=Tim Friend |title=Out of thin air His free fall from 32 km (20 mi) put NASA on firm footing |work=[[USA Today]] |page=1D |date=1998-08-18}}</ref>

{{quotation|An hour and thirty-one minutes after launch, my pressure altimeter halts at 103,300 feet. At ground control the radar altimeters also have stopped-on readings of 102,800 feet, the figure that we later agree upon as the more reliable. It is 7 o'clock in the morning, and I have reached float altitude&nbsp;... Though my stabilization chute opens at 96,000 feet, I accelerate for 6,000 feet more before hitting a peak of 614 miles an hour, nine-tenths the speed of sound at my altitude.<ref>{{cite news| author=Joseph W. Kittinger |title=The Long, Lonely Leap| work=National Geographic |date=December 1960 |pages=854–873}}</ref>}}

A plaque attached below the open door of the Excelsior III gondola read, "This is the highest step in the world".

Kittinger held the world records for highest  parachute jump and highest speed of a human in atmosphere until October 14, 2012 when [[Felix Baumgartner]] jumped from {{convert|127852|ft}} and reaching a speed of 377.12&nbsp;m/s as part of the [[Red Bull Stratos]] project, with Kittinger serving as a technical advisor to Baumgartner. Kittinger does, however, still hold the records for longest drogue fall and longest freefall.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Joseph Kittinger and the Excelsior gondola.jpg|[[Joseph Kittinger]] next to the Excelsior gondola. The plaque reads "This Is The Highest Step In The World".
File:Project_Excelsior_-_Kittinger%27s_Jump_by_Lookout_Mountain_Air_Force_Station,_1352d_Motion_Picture_Squadron.ogg|Film of the historic jump
File:Joseph Kittinger after jump 1960 US Air Force.jpg|A ground crew assists Joe Kittinger in removing his flight gear after the successful flight of Excelsior III. Despite the appearances, Kittinger was fine.
File:Excelsior NMUSAF Display.jpg|Replica of the Excelsior III gondola at the [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]]
</gallery>

==Response==
[[File:Comparison International Standard Atmosphere space diving.svg|thumb|Comparison of approximate altitudes of various objects and successful stratospheric jumps, and a graph of [[International Standard Atmosphere]] temperature and pressure]]

Kittinger's efforts during Project Excelsior proved that it was possible for an air crew to descend safely after ejecting at high altitudes.<ref name="AmExp"/> President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] awarded Kittinger the C. B. [[Harmon Trophy]] for his work on Excelsior. Kittinger also received an oak leaf cluster to the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (USA)|Distinguished Flying Cross]], the J.J. Jeffries Award, the [[A. Leo Stevens Parachute Medal]], and the [[Wingfoot Lighter-Than-Air Society Achievement Award]].

==See also==
* [[Alan Eustace]] who in 2014 jumped from {{convert|135889|ft|m}} and had a {{convert|123334|foot|m}} freefall with a drogue chute which exceeds both of Joseph Kittinger's records.
* [[Le Grand Saut]]
* [[Auguste Piccard]], Swiss physicist who in 1931 went to {{cvt|51775|ft}} in a helium balloon in a spherical gondola.
* [[Red Bull Stratos]], a 2012 mission advised by Kittinger, with Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner setting a new record
* [[Space diving]]
{{Clear}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
{{refbegin}}
* [http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_bilger Burkhard Bilger, Our Far-Flung Correspondents, "Falling," The New Yorker, August 13, 2007, p. 58]
*{{Cite book |first=Craig |last=Ryan |title=The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1995 |isbn=1-55750-732-5}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book | first=Joseph | last=Kittinger | title=The Long, Lonely Leap | year=1961 | publisher=[[E. P. Dutton]] | location=New York}} (Joseph W. Kittinger's autobiography)

==External links==
*{{cite web|url=http://stratocat.com.ar/artics/excelsior-e.htm |publisher=Greg Kennedy  |title=Joseph W. Kittinger and the Highest Step in the World |date=March 17, 2010}} On Stratocat website
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100331012902/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=562 National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Excelsior page]
*[http://historyinpieces.com/video/project-excelsior U.S. Air Force Footage of Excelsior Tests]
*[http://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/1959/HMN-19591116.htm Details of the Excelsior I flight]
*[http://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/1959/HMN-19591211.htm Details of the Excelsior II flight]
*[http://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/1960/HMN-19600816.htm Details of the Excelsior III flight -The Big Jump-]
*[http://www.rb-29.net/HTML/27JoKittinger/27StysJoeKittinger.html Interview with Joseph Kittinger]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n2AICdVv3g The Highest Step - video]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWVEGLJBjbU Col. Joe Kittinger speaks at the Kircher Society Meeting - Video Pt1 - featuring an extended Project Excelsior Video]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qZzEMoTlMI Col. Joe Kittinger speaks at the Kircher Society Meeting - Video Pt2]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqUG4DcqYFc Col. Joe Kittinger speaks at the Kircher Society Meeting - Video Pt3]
*[http://www.directart.co.uk/mall/more.php?ProdID=4661 ''Excelsior III - the Long, Lonely Leap'' painting by Stuart Brown]
* {{Internet Archive short film|id=gov.archives.li.111-dd-301-59|name=Balloons}}

[[Category:Ballooning]]
[[Category:Military projects of the United States]]
[[Category:Military parachuting]]
[[Category:Space diving]]
[[Category:Space research]]
[[Category:Human subject research in the United States]]
[[Category:November 1959 in the United States]]
[[Category:August 1960 in the United States]]
[[Category:December 1959 in the United States]]
[[Category:1959 in aviation]]
[[Category:1960 in aviation]]
[[Category:1959 in New Mexico]]
[[Category:1960 in New Mexico]]