The First Space Jump

Available for over a year

In 1960 a young American test pilot, Colonel Joe Kittinger jumped from the edge of space and fell 19 miles to earth. His record has only just been beaten by Felix Baumgartner. Colonel Joe was the capsule communicator talking Felix through the whole experience. In this edition of Outlook we hear Joe's own extraordinary story. The 84- year-old has been an experimental aviator, a Vietnam fighter pilot and a space jumper, and is recognised to have paved the way for the American astronauts of the 1960s. Picture: Col Joe Kittinger (R) and Felix Baumgartner (L) Picture Credit: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images