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Spaceflight history: high altitude parachute test
Produced by FootageVault, and using original NASA video, these clips chart the first high altitude balloon flight of Joe Kittinger during Project Excelsior.
This was a series of high-altitude parachute jumps made in 1959 and 1960 to test the Beaupre multi-stage parachute system. The final test set a record a free-fall parachute jump from an altitude of 39.6 km. The whole descent took 13 minutes and 45 seconds. The video clips show footage of the flight preparation, initial moments as Kittinger jumps from the balloon's gondola, parachute descent and rescue following landing.
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