Journal Entry
Space Diving
October 31st 2007 at 7:27 am
If you’ve heard me read the first chapter of Sly Mongoose, you might enjoy this.
AS CAPTAIN Joe Kittinger of the US air force stood on the edge of the hatch, 31 kilometres above the Earth, he must have wondered if he was about to make a fatal mistake. On the way up, the gloved hand of his pressure suit had banged against a strut, breaking the airtight seal that would be essential for his survival on the way down.
Kittinger, a veteran of two previous record-breaking parachute jumps, didn’t tell anyone. He knew that if the officers on the ground found out, they would cancel his attempt, and he didn’t want that. With classic test-pilot bravado, he was determined to grit his teeth and give it a go.
This dude ended up going faster than the speed of sound in a parachute dive from the edge of space.
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1. Jim Hall on Oct 31st, 2007 at 8:15 pm
I thought Halloween was Scary! A jump from 31 kilometers up, now that is scary. Happy Halloween.
2. Stephen Granade on Oct 31st, 2007 at 10:58 pm
YouTube has video of his jump.
3. Carrie V. on Nov 1st, 2007 at 2:15 pm
This is my very favorite story from US aerospace history. I’m amazed more people don’t know about it. (My story in the “All Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories” antho is based on it!)
And the video is _freaky._
4. Carrie V. on Nov 1st, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Sorry, another post: Here’s another video that shows him suiting up, (and doesn’t cut to surfing…since, you know, he landed in desert…)
5. tobias buckell on Nov 1st, 2007 at 6:01 pm
What isn’t on YouTube
6. Stephen Granade on Nov 2nd, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Carrie, the surfing bit is due to the video being incorporated into a music video for the Boards of Canada song Dayvan Cowboy, which is fun to watch.