Getting in the Skydiving Record Books

People have been attempting to break skydiving records ever since the first man jumped out of a hot air balloon and dove to earth. Andre-Jacques Garnerin was the first human to try skydiving—in 1797.

There are some pretty impressive skydiving records. For instance: Don Kellner holds the record for the most jumps—over 36, 000; Cheryl Stearns holds the record for the most skydiving jumps by a woman, as by 2003, she had logged over 15, 500 jumps, and she is still jumping out of things.

Jay Stokes has the record for the most jumps in a single day—600; the free fall record was set in November, 1962 by Roger Andrew Andreyev. He did a free fall of 80, 325 feet; Frank Moody from Perth, Australia is the oldest skydiver at 101. He made a bet with his buddy over a few beers; it is hard to tell who the youngest skydiver is, but he or she may have been as young as two years old. I’m sure the record is not official because Child Protective Services might have something to say about jumping out of an airplane with a two year old.

The world’s largest freefall was a skydiving jump with 400 people on February 8, 2006 in Udon Thani, Thailand; here’s the skydiving record to beat: Captain Joe W Kittinger’s record for the highest jump, set August 16, 1960. Kittinger jumped out of the basket of a balloon from a height of 102, 800 feet. He fell forever, and achieved speeds of over 600 miles per hour.

Kittinger’s record is challenged by some people because he used an auxiliary chute to slow his descent, but, for heaven’s sake…the man jumped from over 102, 000 feet! His is definitely the record to beat.

Since 2001, two people—Michael Fournier and Cheryl Stearns—have attempted to break Kittinger’s record. Both plan to ride a balloon into the stratosphere, and jump out. They have to use a balloon because neither airplanes nor helicopters can fly that high; the air is too thin.

Beating Kittinger’s record is not just a matter of bragging rights. NASA has been working on a way for astronauts to parachute to earth in case of a space disaster for year. Fournier’s and Stearn’s “space jumping” attempts put NASA one step closer to the goal.

In this case, getting in the skydiving record books doesn’t just make history. It may save an astronaut’s life someday.