Joe Kittinger Touts Upcoming Record Attempt

Posted May 19, 2010, 1:10 pm in Science

You may have noticed our friend Col. Joe Kittinger popping up on your TV screens a lot this week. As we first revealed earlier this year, Joe is advising the Red Bull Stratos Mission team and its daredevil Felix Baumgartner as Felix attempts to break Joe's 50-year-old record.

In August 1960, Joe ascended to 102,000 feet in a helium balloon and jumped out. Using just a parachute, Joe became the first man to travel from the edge of space back to Earth. Now, he's helping Felix shatter that record.

The two aviation pioneers appeared on the CBS Early Show this week to unveil the pressure suit Felix will use for his attempt.

Felix also appeared on CNN's American Morning and The Situation Room to discuss his upcoming jump.

Joe is going to have a busy summer. While visiting the Growing Bolder headquarters, Lenny Potts, the president of the National Skydiving Museum, informed Joe that he is one of the inaugural inductees in the Skydiving Hall of Fame. Joe, and the other inductees, will be honored in August on the 50th anniversary of his leap from space.



We'll be keep you updated on this exciting event as it draws near, but in the meantime, we encourage you to spend some time getting to know one of America's greatest heroes. Not only was Joe an aviation pioneer, he also was a POW in Vietnam with Sen. John McCain and eventually became Michael Jackson's personal hot-air balloon pilot. Watch our video below to learn about his partnership with the Red Bull Stratos Mission, then click here to watch more stories about his exciting and historic life.




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