If you'll excuse a serious drift . . .

Here's an article I wrote about Orlandoan Joe Kittinger:

Joseph Kittinger is an Orlandoan who was important in the development of space flight. While his work was over-shadowed by the astronauts who proceeded after him, he was one of the first persons in space. Even more remarkable is that this was accomplished without the use of a rocket or an engine of any kind! In June of 1957 and again in July of 1960, Kittinger took to the air in a balloon gondola. He wore a prototype space flight suit that engineers hoped would keep him alive during his trip.

In 1957 he achieved an altitude of 95,000 feet - a distance of over 16 miles high. In 1960, his balloon took him to an altitude of 102,880 feet (nearly 18 miles). On both occasions, having reached the target altitude, he simply jumped out of the gondola and fell back to earth. He later recalled that, "I was falling on my back. It was very quiet, very still. I had very little velocity. It seemed the balloon was drifting up away from me into a dark blue sky. But of course it was I who was falling away from the balloon."

Not only was Kittinger one of the first persons in space (the atmosphere at that altitude is almost nonexistent and is considered "space"), but he also holds the following records:

Highest sky dive
Longest duration of free-fall (over 4 minutes)
Longest parachute time
Fastest unassisted speed achieved by a person (he was
traveling over 700 mph & broke the sound barrier)

And if that wasn't enough of a career: Kittinger was stationed overseas to fly jets over Vietnam. He served as commander of the famous 555th "Triple Nickel" Tactical Fighter Squadron flying F-4s and flew 483 missions. On May 11, 1972, he was shot down and spent 11 months in the "Hanoi Hilton," the infamous prisoner of war camp in North Vietnam.

After his retirement, he continued working in aeronautics. He won the Gordon Bennett Gas Balloon Race four times during the 1980s and retired the trophy with three consecutive victories. In November 1983, Kittinger established a new world record by flying a 35,300 cubic-foot (1,000 cubic-meter) helium balloon from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Franklinville, New York, covering 2,001 miles (3,220 kilometers) in 72 hours. He expended all available ballast during this trip and landed in only his underwear.

In September 1984, Kittinger set another record by flying solo across the Atlantic Ocean. He flew the 105,944-cubic-foot (3,000 cubic meter) helium-filled Rosie O'Grady from Presque Island, Maine to the Italian Riviera near Savona, Italy. His trip covered 3,535 miles (5,690 kilometers) in 86 hours.