They said on the news last night that if it does not go right his blood could boil and his brain explode.

MISSION ABORTED

Subj: Highest Parachute Jump... Ever! "MADE IN THE USA

This story gives the term Test Pilot a  whole new meaning. Not for the faint of heart

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  714mph 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 an  aircraft 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 at 2 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.

How was your ascent? 

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. What's it look like from so high up?    You can see about 400 miles in every direction.  The  formula is 1.25 x the sq. Root of the altitude in thousands of feet.  (The square root of 102,000 ft is 319 X 1.25 = 399  miles).

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.

What were you thinking as you took that step?  

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  714mph.

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.

How about your right hand? 

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. What about attempts  to break your record?   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  broken.  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.