Kittinger Falls 102,000 Feet: Highest Jump Ever
Joseph Kittinger plummeted from the stratosphere in a balloon over New Mexico, shattering three human flight records with a 102,800-foot jump that defined high-altitude safety for decades. His free fall reached speeds never before achieved by a person without an aircraft, and those benchmarks stood unbroken until Felix Baumgartner's 2012 ascent proved the feat repeatable.
August 16, 1960
66 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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