Kittinger Crosses Atlantic: A Balloon Flight of Courage

Joe Kittinger launched from Caribou, Maine on September 14, 1984, in a helium balloon called the Balloon of Peace, and landed in Savona, Italy 83 hours and 40 minutes later, becoming the first person to fly a gas balloon solo across the Atlantic Ocean. The flight covered 3,535 miles. He was 56 years old. Born in Tampa, Florida on July 27, 1928, Kittinger was an Air Force test pilot and career adventurer whose life reads like a catalog of improbable feats. He is best known for Project Excelsior in 1960, when he stepped out of a balloon gondola at 102,800 feet, the edge of space, and free-fell for over four minutes before opening his parachute. He reached speeds of 614 miles per hour during the descent. The record for highest parachute jump stood for 52 years, until Felix Baumgartner broke it in 2012 with Kittinger himself serving as capsule communicator on the ground. During the Vietnam War, Kittinger flew 483 combat missions as a fighter pilot. He was shot down on May 11, 1972, and spent eleven months as a prisoner of war at the Hanoi Hilton. He was tortured and kept in solitary confinement. His Atlantic crossing in 1984 was plagued by equipment problems. His communication gear failed. His heater broke, leaving him at high altitude in freezing temperatures. He navigated by celestial observation and dead reckoning. When he landed in northern Italy, he had been awake for most of the flight, surviving on minimal food and water in an unpressurized gondola that offered little protection from the cold. The flight demonstrated that long-duration, high-altitude balloon travel was feasible for solo pilots, expanding the envelope for atmospheric research and adventure flights. It built on a tradition of balloon exploration that stretched back to the eighteenth century while pushing the technology's limits with modern materials and meteorological forecasting. Kittinger was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his career of achievements. He died on December 9, 2022, at 94.