The Roswell Report: Case Closed

Table 2.4

U.S. Air Force Manned High Altitude Balloon Flights

Date	Project/Flight	Altitude(feet)	Pilot
6/2/57	MAN HIGH I	96,200	Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.
8/19/57	MAN HIGH II	101,500	Lt. Col. David G. Simons(MC)
10/8/58	MAN HIGH III	99,700	1st Lt. Clifton McClure
11/16/59	EXCELSIOR I	76,400	Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.
12/11/59	EXCELSIOR II	74,700	Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.
8/16/60	EXCELSIOR III	102,800	Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.
12/13/62	STARGAZER	86,000	Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.

With the completion of Project STARGAZER and the success of NASA's Project MERCURY space flights, future investigations were accomplished by space vehicles. This signaled the end of an era of manned high altitude balloon flight; however, these projects had indeed "bridged the gap," and manned space flight was now safely possible.

## Low Altitude Balloon Training Missions

Background. In April 1958, Col. John P. Stapp, commander of the U.S. Air Force Aero Medical Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB, appointed a new project officer for Project EXCELSIOR, Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. EXCELSIOR was part of an ongoing program to examine high altitude aircraft escape procedures and equipment. $ ^{168} $ Kittinger was an experienced fighter test pilot who was the pilot of the first Air Force manned high altitude balloon project, MAN HIGH I, in June 1957. $ ^{169} $ In addition to being the

Fig. 15. Project STARGAZER pilot and project engineer, Capt. Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr. (left), after landing near Lordsburg, N.M. on December 13, 1962 with U.S. Navy civilian astronomer William C. White. Kittinger and White ascended to 86,000 feet to make astronomical observations in the seventh, and final, U.S. Air Force manned high altitude balloon flight. (U.S. Air Force photo)