THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH: THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF JOE KITTINGER.

He stood at the edge of heaven.

It's a long way down

Joe Kittinger's helium balloon had carried him to more than 19 miles above the earth. Now, he prepared to jump. He was about to do what no human had ever done before - free-fall to earth at the speed of sound. It was part of an extreme American experiment on ejecting at high altitude.

Kittinger knew only too well that the experiment carried extraordinary risks. He had undertaken his first free-fall jump nine months earlier, at the end of 1959, and it had almost killed him. He began spinning wildly out of control - more than 120 revolutions a minute - and quickly lost consciousness. His life was saved only when his parachute opened automatically at 10,000 feet.

An artist's impression

Now, he was going to repeat the experiment, only this time from a far greater height. His specially constructed helium capsule would lift him to an altitude of 31,000 metres - 19-and-a-half miles above planet earth. Then he would step out into the void and fall to earth. No one knew if he would survive the experience. 

It was an experiment of extremes. At such an altitude, the temperature would be minus 100 centigrade. Even more alarming was the insufferable pressure and mix of noxious gasses. If his protective suit burst, his blood would instantly boil.

Kittinger was not doing it for kicks. The United States Air Force was growing increasingly concerned about the safety of pilots forced to eject at high altitude. Tests had shown that the body went into a fatal spin when jumping from a plane. Now, scientists had created a stabiliser device designed to hold the body in one position as it fell to earth. Kittinger was to test this device.

There's a hole in the glove.

At 5.29am on 16 August, 1960, his helium balloon lifted off from an abandoned airstrip in New Mexico. It rose rapidly - 1,200 feet a minute - until it was just a tiny blip in the sky. Although it ascended at speed, it took a long time to reach 19 miles above earth.

Kittinger was wearing a specially designed protective suit - a high-tech layer of inflating fabric that was intended to save him from instant death. But it failed him before he even reached 40,000 feet.  The glove on his right hand didn't inflate - a potentially fatal malfunction which could easily kill him. 

Kittinger knew that if he informed the control centre, they would abort the flight. ‘I took a calculated risk,' he later said, 'that I might lose use of my right hand. It quickly swelled up, and I did lose use for the duration of the flight. But the rest of the pressure suit worked.’

After ascending rapidly for one hour and 31 minutes, Kittinger reached his maximum altitude. But the balloon was not quite in the right position so he allowed it to drift for twelve miles until he was over the landing target area.

It's only 19 miles.

This gave him time enough to experience life in this twilight zone.

‘You can see about 400 miles in every direction,' he said. 'The most fascinating thing is that it's just black overhead - the transition from normal blue to black is very stark. You can't see stars because there's a lot of glare from the sun, so your pupils are too small.’

Kittinger was struck by how beautiful planet earth looked from up here. ‘But I was also struck by how hostile it is: more than 100 degrees below zero [and] no air. If my protection suit failed, I would be dead in a few seconds.’

Kittinger went through a pre-planned 46-step checklist. Then he disconnected the balloon’s power supply, cutting all communication with earth. He was on his own, drifting in a hostile world.

‘When everything was done, I stood up, turned around to the door, took one final look out and said a silent prayer: 'Lord, take care of me now.' Then I just jumped over the side.’

The practice run.

He was on his way back to earth, falling through emptiness at unbelievable speed.

‘I rolled over and looked up and there was the balloon just roaring into space. [Then] I realized that the balloon wasn't roaring into space; I was going down at a fantastic rate…'

He had no sense at all that he was falling. 

'You determine speed is visual if you see something go flashing by. But nothing flashes by 20 miles up - there are no signposts there and you are way above any clouds.’

Yet he was by now travelling at an extraordinary velocity - falling to earth at the speed of sound, more than 600 miles an hour (990 km per hour).

The world appeared an alluring and welcoming sight. Joe had a camera strapped to his body which captured every moment: it revealed planet earth growing nearer and larger with every second.

Where am I?

For 4 minutes and 36 seconds, Kittinger fell through the limitless void. When he reached 17,500 feet above sea level, (5,330m), he opened his main parachute which dramatically slowed his breakneck fall. It took a further nine minutes before he landed safely in the New Mexico desert.

As the ground crew rushed over to greet him, he had just a few brief words for them: ‘I’m very glad to be back with you all,’ he said. He had completed the most extraordinary voyage through space: a 19-mile free-fall from heaven to earth. And he had survived.

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'Idiosyncratic and utterly fascinating... an extraordinary tale of hardship, horror and amazing good fortune' James Delingpole, The Daily Mail