Watch a video of the Exelsior Jumps in
1959 and 1960
As
jet planes flew higher and
faster in the 1950's, the USAF
became increasingly worried
about the safety of flight crew
who had to eject at high
altitude. Tests with dummies had
shown that a body in freefall at
high altitude would often go
into a flat spin at a rate of up
to 200 revolutions per minute.
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
Field, Ohio, devised a
multi-stage parachute system to
facilitate manned tests. This
consisted of a small 6 ft
(2 m) stabilizer parachute
designed to prevent uncontrolled
spinning at high altitudes, and
a 28 ft (8.5 m) main
parachute that deployed at a
lower altitude. The system
included timers and altitude
sensors that automatically
deployed both parachutes at the
correct point in the descent.
To
test the parachute system, staff
at Wright Field built a 200 ft
(61 m) high helium balloon
with a capacity of nearly 3
million cubic feet (85,000 m³)
which could lift an open gondola
and test pilot into the
stratosphere. Kittinger, who was
test director for the project,
made three ascents and test
jumps. As the gondola was
unpressurised, Kittinger had to
wear a full pressure suit during
these tests, plus additional
layers of clothing to protect
him from the extreme cold at
high altitude, and the parachute
system itself. This almost
doubled his weight.
The
first test, Excelsior I, was
made on November 16th 1959.
Kittinger ascended in the
gondola and jumped from an
altitude of 76,400 feet
(23,300 m). In this first
test the stabilizer chute 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 chute which
opened automatically at a height
of 10,000 feet (3,000 m).
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 11th 1959. This time
Kittinger jumped from an
altitude of 74,700 feet
(22,800 m) and descended in
free-fall for 55,000 feet
(16,800 m) before opening
his main chute.
The
third and final test, Excelsior
III, was made on August 16th
1960. During the ascent the
pressure seal in Kittinger's
right glove failed, and he began
to experience severe pain in his
right hand. 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 102,800 feet
(31,300 m). The ascent took
one hour and 31 minutes and
broke the previous manned
balloon altitude record of
101,516 feet (30,942 m),
which was set by Major David
Simons as part of Project
Manhigh in 1957. 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 chute deployed
successfully and Kittinger fell
for 4 minutes and 36 seconds,
setting a still-standing world
record for the longest parachute
free-fall (although some
authorities do not count this as
a free-fall record because of
the use of the stabilizer
chute). At an altitude of 17,500 feet
(5,300 m), Kittinger opened
his main chute and landed safely
in the New Mexico desert. The
whole descent took 13 minutes
and 45 seconds and set the
current world record for the
highest parachute jump.
During
the descent, Kittinger
experienced temperatures as low
as -94 °F (-70 °C).
In the free-fall stage he
reached a top speed that is
variously estimated as 214 to
250 meters per second; in later
interviews, Kittinger put his
top speed at 714 mph (319 m/s).
As the speed of sound is lower
in the upper atmosphere than at
ground level, this means he was
traveling at transonic, and
perhaps supersonic, speeds.
Despite this, Kittinger said he
had no sensation of speed until
he approached the cloud deck.
A
plaque attached below the open
door of the Excelsior III
gondola read "This is the
highest step in the world".
Kittinger's
efforts during project Excelsior
proved that it was possible for
air crew to descend safely after
ejecting at high altitudes. For
his work on Excelsior, President
Dwight D. Eisenhower awarded
Kittinger the C.B Harmon Trophy.
He also received an oak leaf
cluster to the Distinguished
Flying Cross, the J.J. Jeffries
Award, the Leo Stevens Parachute
Medal, and the Wingfoot
Lighter-Than-Air Society
Achievement Award.
