The highest skydive in history

Joseph Kittinger is our new hero, even though this event took place about 5 decades ago. He holds the world record for the highest skydive in history, and he also holds the record for the fastest a human has ever traveled without propulsion. In August of 1960, he rode a ballon into the outer atmosphere, approximately 102,800 ft above sea level, where the atmosphere is so thin it almost isn't even there. The bitterly cold temperatures he endured were unimaginable, getting as low as -90° F. When he reached an altitude of 19.5 miles above the earth, he took the most terrifying step in his life, plummeting back to the New Mexico desert at speeds of over 614 mph -- almost the speed of sound -- and faster than the maximum speed of a typical Boeing 747. He said that at first, with no visual references, and being so high up that he felt no wind at all due to the thinness of the atmosphere, he couldn't even tell he was falling -- it was like he was floating in space...