Exclusive for Podcrashers:
Every safe airplane landing is really the story of thousands of people who risked it all to make it possible. In this month's Patreon-exclusive layover episode of Take to the Sky: the Air Disaster Podcast, Stephanie introduces us to Colonel Joseph Kittinger II, whose groundbreaking research and incredible bravery launched him into the stratosphere so he could fall back to Earth as he tested technology to keep pilots and astronauts safe in emergency situations.Sources consulted for this story:
- Associated Press: Fastest Man Title Stands
- National Museum of the Air Force: EXCELSIOR GONDOLA
- Veteran Tributes: Joseph William Kittinger II
- Text from The Long Lonely Leap by William Kittinger (National Geographic 1960)
- New York Times: A Supersonic Jump, From 23 Miles in the Air
- New York Times: Joseph Kittinger, a Record-Setter High in the Skies, Dies at 94
- Air Force Times: Air Force Col. (ret.) Joseph Kittinger, who set parachute record, dies
- Life: Joe Kittinger: The Man Who Fell to Earth
- Joe Kittinger Official Website
- New Mexico Museum of Space History: Joseph W. Kittinger
- Red Bull: The science of Red Bull Stratos
Credits:
Written and produced by: Shelly Price and Stephanie HubkaDirected and engineered at: Snow Monster Studios
Sound editor: Podcast Engineers
Producer: Adam Hubka
Music by: Mike Dunn
Image of Joe Kittinger during his record-setting jump on the cover of Life Magazine. Source: Life
The balloon that took Joe Kittinger to the edge of space. Source: JoeKittinger.com
Captain Kittinger. Source: New York Times
