As Project Excelsior did not have the resources to use high performance aircraft to test the new escape system, a balloon gondola was designed and built by the skilled staff at Wright Field to carry the pilot to the desired altitudes for the tests. The balloon held nearly 3 million cubic feet of helium to lift the open gondola high into the stratosphere. Capt. Kittinger made three high-altitude parachute jumps from the gondola using the Beaupre-designed parachute system. On Nov. 16, 1959, Capt. Kittinger made the first jump from Excelsior I at an altitude of 76,400 feet. During Excelsior II, the second test on Dec. 11, 1959, Capt. Kittinger jumped from an altitude of 74,700 feet. On the third and last jump in Excelsior III on Aug. 16, 1960, Capt. Kittinger jumped from a height of 102,800 feet, almost 20 miles above the earth. With only the small stabilizing chute deployed, Capt. Kittinger fell for 4 minutes, 36 seconds. He experienced temperatures as low as minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit and a maximum speed of 614 miles per hour, exceeding the speed of sound. The 28-foot main parachute did not open until Capt. Kittinger reached the much thicker atmosphere at 17,500 feet. He safely landed in the New Mexico desert after a 13 minute, 45 second descent. Project Excelsior successfully proved the new parachute system would solve the problem of high altitude escape by crewmen.
