Space Video of the Day - 070816

Today's video shows the first man in space. No, not Yuri Gagarin; 47 years ago today, on August 16, 1960, USAF Captain Joe Kittinger rode a balloon up to 102800 feet, and then took a flying leap from the edge of space. As Bugs Bunny would say, "watch that first step - it's a lulu!"

Kittinger reached a speed of 714 mph (1149 km/h) during his 4 minute 36 second freefall, thus becoming the only man to break the speed of sound (the speed of sound is lower at the edge of space due to the much lower pressure) without being inside a vehicle, before activating his parachute at 18 thousand feet. This jump is still the world record skydive today.


Space Video of the Day Archive