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.

As jet planes flew higher and faster in the 1950s, the Air Force became increasingly worried about the safety of flight crews who had to eject at high altitude.

Francis Beaupre, a technician at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, devised a multi-stage parachute system to facilitate human tests.

The system included timers and altitude sensors that would automatically deploy both parachutes at the correct points in the descent, even if the parachutist were unconscious or disabled.

As the gondola was unpressurized, Kittinger wore a modified David Clark MC-3A partial pressure suit during these tests,[2] plus additional layers of clothing to protect him from the extreme cold at high altitude.

[4] The ascent took one hour and 31 minutes and broke the previous crewed balloon altitude record of 101,516 feet (30,942 m), which was set by Major David Simons as part of Project Manhigh in 1957.

The small stabilizer parachute deployed successfully and Kittinger fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds,[4] setting a long-standing world record for the longest free-fall.

Kittinger held the world records for highest parachute jump and highest speed of a human in atmosphere until October 14, 2012 when Felix Baumgartner jumped from 127,852 feet (38,969 m) and reaching a speed of 377.12 m/s as part of the Red Bull Stratos project, with Kittinger serving as a technical advisor to Baumgartner.

Kittinger's efforts during Project Excelsior proved that it was possible for an air crew to descend safely after ejecting at high altitudes.