NARRATIVE: Joseph Kittinger served 28 years in the U.S. Airforce. In 1960, he set the world record for the highest skydive at 102,800 feet in the Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior high-altitude balloon projects, all prior to the formation of NASA. Following his amazing 102,800 foot skydive, he continued his service in the Vietnam War where he was shot down and served eleven months in a North Vietnamese POW camp. In 1973, he was repatriated and retired from the Air Force in 1978. In 1984, he become the first person to solo the Atlantic Ocean in a balloon.