‘EXCELSIOR III –
THE LONG LONELY LEAP’
Stuart Brown
The most incredible 614mph freefall from the edge of space, celebrated in this superb limited edition print, signed by the legend himself Colonel Joe W Kittinger. *Sorry, prints now sold out*
Kittinger performed three extreme altitude jumps during August 1960 as part of the USAF research project ‘Excelsior’, a precursor to the US space race, to test survivability at the edge of space.
Excelsior III was the climax of the operation.
Leaping from the open gondola of a 200ft diameter helium balloon at nearly 103,000ft with 99% of the earth's atmosphere below him, Kittinger spent four minutes thirty-six seconds in freefall. As he passed through 90,000ft his speed reached an incredible 614mph – almost the speed of sound in thin freezing air of the upper atmosphere. At 18,000ft his multi-stage parachute, operating on timers and barometric triggers, finally deployed his ‘main’.
This historic jump set an altitude record that still stands today.
This stunning edition of 550 prints is now available signed by artist Stuart Brown and the legend himself – Colonel Joe W Kittinger. The print bears a full caption in the border detailing the incredible story.
Stuart Brown & Colonel Joe Kittinger
London, 2004
![click to see enlarged detail (opens a new window)](javascript:void openWin("detail-Excelsior-III_600x460.jpg"))
