So how high can people go.... without aircraft? Surprisingly man has been to over 100,000 feet and parachuted back to the surface. The US Gov't put on Project Excelsior to test the ability of humans to escape from high altitudes. Helium balloons were used to bring a man named Joseph Kittinger to extreme altitudes at which point Mr. Kittinger would step out of the balloon's gondola for the free- fall and parachute landing back on Earth (!!!). Perhaps the most amazing part is that he did this more than once, and all for a US Air Force Captain's pay. Amazing. I saw an interview with Col. Kittinger and he mentioned stepping out of the gondola only to experience 'not falling'- no air sounds, no flapping of clothing, absolutely no sensation of traveling through the atmosphere at all. He said his first thought was.... fantastic, they have me so high I am in orbit and cannot get back. Then he turned around and watched the balloon moving away from him at very high speed; it seems Kittinger was falling after all but the atmosphere was so rarefied that there were no associated physical effects from what turned out to be impressively high speeds that he reached before opening his parachute.
Kittinger set several records that still stand:
The highest altitude attained by a human without an aircraft: 102,800 feet.
The longest free- fall: 4 1/2 minutes and 84,800 feet.
The highest velocity reached by man without a craft: 714 MPH.
Col. Kittinger survived all of his high altitude ballooning and went on to finish a career in the Air Force that included three combat tours in Viet Nam flying F4s, and a stretch as a POW in North Viet Nam.
Currently the Red Bull Stratos project is underway to try and break Col. Kittinger's records, as well as produce the first event of a man traveling faster than the speed of sound without a vehicle. Felix Baumgartner will be the person making the jumps on the project. Col. Kittinger is an advisor on the Stratos project.
http://www.redbullstratos.com/#!lightbox/media1563888061001/
Brian