Joe Kittinger

Joe Kittinger is a retired United States Air Force officer and a pioneering figure in the field of skydiving and high-altitude parachuting. He is best known for his historic jump from a helium balloon at an altitude of 102,800 feet in 1960, which remained the highest free-fall jump record for over 50 years. Kittinger's jump was part of the Project Excelsior and provided valuable data on high-altitude parachuting and the effects of extreme conditions on the human body. He served as an advisor to Felix Baumgartner during Baumgartner's record-breaking jump in 2012, which surpassed Kittinger's altitude record. Throughout his career, Kittinger has also flown more than 4,000 missions as a fighter pilot and has received numerous awards for his contributions to aviation and aeronautics.