1. Joseph William Kittinger II was an officer in the United States Air Force who served from 1950 to 1978, and earned Command Pilot status before retiring with the rank of colonel.
52 Facts About Joseph Kittinger
1. 2.
Joseph Kittinger participated in the Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior high-altitude balloon flight projects from 1956 to 1960 and was the first man to fully witness the curvature of the Earth.
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Joseph Kittinger was later shot down as well, subsequently spending 11 months as a prisoner of war in a North Vietnamese prison before he was repatriated in 1973.
4.
In 2012, Joseph Kittinger participated in the Red Bull Stratos project as capsule communicator at age 84, directing Felix Baumgartner on his 24-mile freefall from Earth's stratosphere, which broke Joseph Kittinger's own 53-year-old record.
5.
Joseph Kittinger became fascinated with planes at a young age and soloed in a Piper Cub by the time he was 17.
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Joseph Kittinger was assigned to the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing based at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany, flying the F-84 Thunderjet and F-86 Sabre.
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In 1954, Joseph Kittinger was transferred to the Air Force Missile Development Center at Holloman AFB, New Mexico.
8.
Joseph Kittinger was impressed by Stapp's dedication and leadership as a pioneer in aerospace medicine.
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Stapp was to foster the high-altitude balloon tests that would later lead to Joseph Kittinger's record-setting leap from over 102,800 feet.
10.
In 1957, as part of Project Manhigh, Joseph Kittinger set an interim balloon altitude record of 96,760 feet in Manhigh I, for which he was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross.
11.
Captain Joseph Kittinger was next assigned to the Aerospace Medical Research Laboratories at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.
12.
Excelsior I: Joseph Kittinger's first high-altitude jump, from about 76,400 feet on November 16,1959, was a near-disaster when an equipment malfunction caused him to lose consciousness.
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Joseph Kittinger went into a flat spin at a rotational velocity of about 120 rpm, the g-forces at his extremities having been calculated to be over 22 times the force of gravity, setting another record.
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Excelsior II: On December 11,1959, Joseph Kittinger jumped again from about 74,700 feet.
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Excelsior III: On August 16,1960, Joseph Kittinger made the final high-altitude jump at 102,800 feet.
16.
Joseph Kittinger set historical numbers for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest-duration drogue-fall, and fastest speed by a human being through the atmosphere.
17.
Joseph Kittinger appeared as himself on the January 7,1963 episode of the game show To Tell the Truth.
18.
In 1965, after returning to the operational Air Force, Joseph Kittinger was approached by civilian amateur parachutist Nick Piantanida for assistance on Piantanida's Strato Jump project, an effort to break the previous freefall records of both Joseph Kittinger and Soviet Air Force officer Yevgeni Andreyev.
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Joseph Kittinger refused to participate in the effort, believing Piantanida's approach to the project was too reckless.
20.
Joseph Kittinger later served three combat tours of duty during the Vietnam War, flying a total of 483 combat missions.
21.
Joseph Kittinger was shot down on May 11,1972, just before the end of his third tour of duty.
22.
Joseph Kittinger was put through rope torture soon after his arrival at the POW compound and this made a lasting impression on him.
23.
In Joseph Kittinger's autobiography "Come Up and Get Me", Joseph Kittinger emphasized being very serious about maintaining the military structure he considered essential to survival.
24.
Joseph Kittinger accumulated 7,679 flying hours in the US Air Force, including 948 combat flying hours during three tours during the Vietnam War.
25.
Joseph Kittinger received the following awards and decorations during his USAF career:.
26.
On that date, Colonel Joseph Kittinger led a flight of two F-4D Tactical Fighters that provided cover from hostile aircraft for bombing operations in support of friendly forces.
27.
Colonel Joseph Kittinger resisted their demands by calling upon his deepest inner strengths in a manner which reflected his devotion to duty and great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
28.
The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Colonel Joseph Kittinger culminate a distinguished career in the service of his country and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
29.
On that date, Captain Joseph Kittinger made an open gondola balloon ascent to an altitude of 102,800 feet, surpassing all previous records.
30.
From this record altitude, Captain Joseph Kittinger successfully tested an experimental stabilization parachute system, free-falling for four minutes and thirty-eight seconds to an altitude of 17,500 feet where deployment of the recovery parachute occurred.
31.
The personal courage, outstanding airmanship and selfless devotion to duty of Captain Joseph Kittinger reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
32.
On that date, while engaged in a night armed reconnaissance mission, Major Joseph Kittinger accepted a diversionary flak suppression mission against a highly defended target.
33.
The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Major Joseph Kittinger reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
34.
On that date, Colonel Joseph Kittinger willingly risked his life as he aggressively attacked hostile forces in the face of intense anti-aircraft fire.
35.
The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Colonel Joseph Kittinger reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
36.
On that date, Colonel Joseph Kittinger led a flight of two F-4D Tactical Fighters that struck a heavily defended truck park and storage area.
37.
The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Colonel Joseph Kittinger reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
38.
On that date, Colonel Joseph Kittinger was flying an F-4D fighter aircraft on a mission to provide protection from hostile interceptors for sixteen strike aircraft hitting targets in the Hanoi area.
39.
The protection given the strike force by Colonel Joseph Kittinger resulted in the successful completion of a very difficult mission.
40.
The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Colonel Joseph Kittinger reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
41.
Joseph Kittinger retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 1978 and initially went to work for Martin Marietta Corporation in Orlando, Florida.
42.
Still interested in ballooning, Joseph Kittinger set a world distance record for the AA-06 size class of gas balloons of 3,221.23 kilometers in 1983.
43.
Joseph Kittinger participated in the Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning in 1989 and 1994.
44.
Joseph Kittinger served as CAPCOM for Baumgartner's jump, which broke Joseph Kittinger's altitude record set during Project Excelsior.
45.
In 2013, Joseph Kittinger helped balloonist Jonathan Trappe as he attempted to be the first to cross the Atlantic by cluster balloon.
46.
In 1997, Joseph Kittinger was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.
47.
On January 23,2007, the Civil Air Patrol honored Joseph Kittinger by renaming the Texas CAP wing's TX-352 Squadron after him.
48.
Joseph Kittinger was honored at a 2009 ceremony in Caribou, Maine, the launch point for his 1984 solo trans-Atlantic balloon flight.
49.
Joseph Kittinger served as the guest of honor at the community's sesquicentennial celebration.
50.
On February 20,2013, Joseph Kittinger visited his alma mater, the University of Florida, and spoke to over 400 students and faculty about his role in the Red Bull Stratos and Excelsior III.
51.
In November 2023, Joseph Kittinger was posthumously inducted into the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame in Tallahassee, Florida.
52.
Joseph Kittinger died at the age of 94 on December 9,2022, from lung cancer, survived by his wife, two sons, four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.