July 12th, 2008
Via theministryoftruth (from Benjamin Hilts): THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (for reals!) “In 1960, U.S. Air Force pilot Joe Kittinger flew 30km straight up into the sky using a pressurized, high-altitude balloon. This very nearly made him the first man in space. He then jumped. Kittinger free-fell for over twenty kilometers – at which point he was moving so fast he broke the sound barrier… And of course there is a video. The video is beautiful, as is the entire idea; he couldn’t tell he was falling unless he looked at the receding balloon. The film shows how far into the darkness beyond the atmosphere he seems to be; it’s just stunning.

Via theministryoftruth (from Benjamin Hilts):

THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (for reals!)

“In 1960, U.S. Air Force pilot Joe Kittinger flew 30km straight up into the sky using a pressurized, high-altitude balloon. This very nearly made him the first man in space. He then jumped. Kittinger free-fell for over twenty kilometers – at which point he was moving so fast he broke the sound barrier… And of course there is a video.

The video is beautiful, as is the entire idea; he couldn’t tell he was falling unless he looked at the receding balloon. The film shows how far into the darkness beyond the atmosphere he seems to be; it’s just stunning.

14 notes·
  1. alexandrious reblogged this from mills
  2. freshprince reblogged this from mills
  3. ackb reblogged this from mills and added:
    Wow. The unbelievable nature of this post smelled a little of a rickroll, yet it’s all true.
  4. byrdie reblogged this from jonic
  5. courtneyj reblogged this from theministryoftruth and added:
    I first learned of Joe Kittinger through the video for Boards of Canada’s “Dayvan Cowboy” as it includes some of the...
  6. fuddmain reblogged this from mills and added:
    Kittinger definitely has a brass pair. He’s lived here in Orlando for years. The last time I visited the Orange County...
  7. jonic reblogged this from bunkercomplex
  8. bunkercomplex reblogged this from mills
  9. dhk reblogged this from mills
  10. adeandabet reblogged this from mills
  11. mills reblogged this from theministryoftruth and added:
    The video is beautiful, as is the entire idea; he couldn’t tell he was falling unless he looked at the receding balloon....
  12. theministryoftruth reblogged this from benjaminhilts
  13. ak47 reblogged this from benjaminhilts
  14. benjaminhilts posted this
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Aporia

Aporia is written by Mills Baker and concerns art, culture, love, philosophy, memory, history, and more. A selection of better posts has been assembled. It's been featured on Tumblr Tuesday and is listed in the Spotlight, but it pines for its youth as a coloring book.