Tim Spitzack
Editor
Our country’s earliest days of space exploration required men of unparalleled courage willing to do the unthinkable, and few were more daring than Joseph William Kittinger II, who rode a high-altitude balloon to the record-breaking height of 96,784 feet to test how humans reacted to the harsh conditions found high above the clouds. The launch took place from Fleming Field in South St. Paul on a beautiful summer day in 1957.
Kittinger, an officer in the United States Air Force, was a test pilot involved with Project Manhigh, a military project that took men in capsules attached to helium-filled balloons to the middle layers of the stratosphere between 1955 and 1958. The purpose of the program was to investigate how humans reacted physically and psychologically to time in space, and to study design principles for space capsules. Winzen Research Inc. of Minneapolis was awarded the contract for construction of the balloon and the capsule, which presumably explains why the flight occurred in the Twin Cities. Six unmanned flights were conducted before Kittinger floated into the stratosphere.
The capsule itself looked like a tall tin garbage can wrapped in tinfoil. It was made of aluminum-alloy and measured 8 feet in height and 3 feet in diameter. To determine if Kittinger could handle being in such tight quarters, he was locked in the capsule for 24 hours during his training to test for claustrophobia. The capsule, which had six portholes, was attached to a 40-foot parachute, which in turn was connected to the balloon. Kittinger controlled the balloon’s flight by operating a valve that controlled the release of helium gas into the balloon to increase or decrease its rate of ascent.
The details of launch day on June 2, 1957, will surely elicit claustrophobic anxiety for many a reader. Kittinger’s day began in the middle of the night, when he entered the capsule at 12:30 a.m. It was sealed and for the next three hours the ground crew conducted pre-flight preparations on the capsule and its equipment. They loaded it onto a truck and arrived at Fleming Field at 4:20 a.m. There, they installed flight equipment and inflated the balloon. At 6:23 a.m. the ballon was released from its launching pad and slowly climbed to its ceiling altitude of 95,200 feet, with Kittinger trailing behind in the minuscule capsule.
While in flight, Kittinger drifted throughout the Mississippi River Valley, first into western Wisconsin, then back into Minnesota. He communicated with the ground crew through a VHF transceiver, but that soon broke. Some 20 minutes into the flight, Kittinger told the ground crew he was going to check other channels on the VHF communications equipment. As he turned the channel selector knob, something broke within, leaving him unable to transmit voice communications for the remainder of the journey. From that point on his only transmissions were made by using Morse code over the capsule’s physiological and altitude telemetering HF transmitter.
There was another problem as well. Soon after the launch, the capsule’s internal pressure wasn’t properly responding to the change in altitude, and at 8:07 a.m. Kittinger reported that his liquid oxygen supply was down to two liters. Concerned for his safety, at 8:54 a.m. ground control ordered him to start his descent. Despite the volatile situation, Kittinger was not pleased with the orders. Using Morse code, he quipped, “Come up and get me.”
Shortly before 1 p.m., Kittinger was nearly back to earth. He spotted a clearing on the bank of Indian Creek just north of Weaver, Minn., near the Mississippi around the Wabasha area. With great skill, he maneuvered the capsule over the treetops and into the small clearing, landing at 12:55 p.m. At touchdown, the balloon was released, and the capsule toppled into the shallow water of the creek. Two helicopters had already landed nearby, and crewmembers helped Kittinger exit the capsule.
Following the flight, Kittinger was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and achieved recognition for being the first person to witness the curvature of the earth. He served in the Air Force his entire career – retiring with the rank of colonel – and accomplished other great feats as well. He held the world record for the highest skydive – 102,800 feet – from 1960 until 2012, and in 1984 became the first person to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon. He was also a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War and was shot down on a mission. He spent 11 months in a Vietnamese war prison before being liberated in 1973. He passed away in 2022.
A video of the Project Manhigh flight can be seen on YouTube (search Project Manhigh).
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