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18 Years to fall 25 Miles
Frenchman wants to Break Parachute Altitude Record

Sixty-one year old Michel Fournier has been trying since 1988 to break the record for the highest ever parachute jump. That's not the most interesting thing about this morning's Wall Street Journal article - reprinted at the link below. The most interesting part is the story of the current record-holder, American (Ret.) Col. Joe Kittinger. The minibiography of Col. Kittinger, who set the record in 1960, shows that he's truly a guy with "the right stuff":

Belly-flopping from the edge of space isn't just an incredibly long parachute ride. At that altitude, conditions quickly turn deadly. Above 40,000 feet, the atmosphere is so thin that unprotected people lose consciousness in around 12 seconds. Even with an air supply, nitrogen bubbles may form in the blood and soft tissue if the jumper hasn't prepared by inhaling pure oxygen for several hours. If the jumper is unprotected above 50,000 feet or so, saliva boils off the tongue, and body parts begin swelling painfully. Lungs may hemorrhage as they and the skull fill with liquid.

On Col. Kittinger's ascent to his record leap, his right glove broke, causing his exposed hand to balloon. A Soviet officer died two years later from pressure sickness in a similar attempt when his face mask cracked. An American sky diver died from decompression trying to beat the record in 1966.

Col. Kittinger is a hard act to follow. After breaking more ballooning records, he signed up for active duty in Vietnam, flying 483 missions before getting shot down in 1972. He says that during 11 months in the "Hanoi Hilton" prison, he stayed sane by plotting a balloon journey. In 1984, at age 56, he set a new record by ballooning across the Atlantic solo.

DIE WELT.de Blogs - The Free West