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The retired US aerial unit colonel Joseph Kittinger, whose 1960 parachute leap from astir 20 miles (32km) supra Earth stood arsenic a satellite grounds for much than 50 years, has died successful Florida aged 94.
His decease connected Friday was announced by the erstwhile US congressman John Mica and different friends. The origin was lung cancer.
Kittinger, past an aerial unit skipper and pilot, gained worldwide fame erstwhile helium completed 3 jumps implicit 10 months from a gondola that was hoisted into the stratosphere by ample helium balloons. Project Excelsior was aimed astatine helping plan ejection systems for subject pilots flying high-altitude missions.
Wearing a unit suit and 60 pounds (27kg) of equipment, Kittinger astir died during the project’s archetypal leap successful November 1959 erstwhile his cogwheel malfunctioned aft helium jumped from 14.5 miles. He mislaid consciousness arsenic helium went into a rotation that was 22 times the unit of gravity. He was saved erstwhile his automatic chute opened.
Four weeks later, Kittinger made his 2nd leap from conscionable implicit 14 miles supra the surface. This time, determination were nary problems.
Kittinger’s grounds leap came connected 16 August 1960 successful the New Mexico desert. His unit suit malfunctioned arsenic helium rose, failing to seal disconnected his close hand, which swelled to doubly mean size earlier helium jumped from 102,800 feet – much than 19 miles supra the surface.
Freefalling successful the bladed atmosphere, the Florida airman exceeded 600mph (965km/h) earlier the gradually thickening aerial slowed his autumn to astir 150 mph erstwhile his parachute deployed astatine 18,000 feet (5.5km).
“There’s nary mode you tin visualise the speed,” Kittinger told Florida Trend mag successful 2011. “There’s thing you tin spot to spot however accelerated you’re going. You person nary extent perception. If you’re successful a car driving down the roadworthy and you adjacent your eyes, you person nary thought what your velocity is. It’s the aforesaid happening if you’re escaped falling from space. There are nary signposts.
“You cognize you are going precise fast, but you don’t consciousness it. You don’t person a 614mph upwind blowing connected you. I could lone perceive myself breathing successful the helmet.”
His grounds stood until 2012, erstwhile Austrian Felix Baumgartner jumped from 24 miles (38.6km) supra the New Mexico desert, reaching the supersonic velocity of 844mph (1,360km/h). Kittinger served arsenic an adviser.
Kittinger stayed successful the aerial unit aft his jumps, serving 3 tours of work during the Vietnam war. He was changeable down implicit North Vietnam successful May 1972, but ejected. He was captured and spent 11 months successful a Hanoi prisoner-of-war camp, undergoing torture.
He retired from the aerial unit successful 1978 and settled successful the Orlando area, wherever helium became a section icon. A parkland determination is named aft him.
He is survived by his wife, Sherri.
English (US)