Project Excelsior was a series of parachute jumps made by Joseph Kittinger of the United States Air Force in 1959 and 1960 from helium balloons in the stratosphere . The purpose was to test the Beaupre multi-stage parachute system intended to be used by pilots ejecting from high altitude . In one of these jumps Kittinger set world records for the highest parachute jump , the longest parachute drogue fall and the fastest speed by a human through the atmosphere . The record for fastest speed by a human through the atmosphere is now held by Felix Baumgartner of the Red Bull Stratos project
Red Bull Stratos
Red Bull Stratos
Project Excelsior