High Adventure

“No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.” [John 3:13]

Few people have had more high adventure with balloons than Joseph Kittinger. In 1950, Kittinger joined the U.S. Air Force and quickly got into experimental aviation. In 1953 he joined a unique mission called Project Manhigh. This venture used high-altitude balloons to study if humans were capable of going into space. On June 2, 1957, Kittinger made his first high-altitude ascent. It took him up to 96,760 feet in a pressurized suit, nearly out of Earth’s atmosphere, for almost seven hours. After this flight, Kittinger transferred to Project Excelsior (meaning “ever upward”). For this assignment, those who went up took the fastest route down – by jumping out of the balloon! In 1959, Kittinger jumped from a balloon 74,700 feet high and set a record for the longest free-fall (55,500 feet).

On August 16, 1960, Kittinger made his most famous free-fall. He reached the altitude of 102,800 feet, where he stayed about 12 minutes – challenging at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit! Then he jumped and fell towards Earth for almost five minutes before opening his main parachute. As he streaked toward the ground he reached 614 mph, approaching the sound barrier, and achieved the fastest speed by man through the atmosphere. In 1962, he spent over 18 hours in a Project Stargazer balloon at an altitude of 82,200 feet, researching the effects of high altitude on man and telescope.

Later, Kittinger flew 483 missions in Vietnam before being shot down and held as a POW for almost a year. A Christian, Kittinger was sustained by prayer. In 1983, Colonel Kittinger set a record for flying a balloon from Las Vegas to New York in less than 72 hours. To increase distance, he expended all available ballast and landed in only his underwear. A year later he became the first man to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a balloon, setting a record for the longest solo balloon flight at 83 hours and 40 minutes. As of this writing, Joseph Kittinger is still flying balloons in Orlando, Florida, and still holds many records, including the highest balloon ascent, fastest speed by man through the atmosphere, and more.

You have heard the expression “What goes up must come down.” But the Bible teaches there is one Man who came down and went back up! In the highest adventure of all, when Jesus returns, all His children will be caught up with Him in the clouds!