Editing Project Excelsior (section)

{{short description|United States Air Force parachuting project}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox
| above       = Project Excelsior
| image       = [[File:Kittinger-jump.jpg|220px]]
| caption     = Final jump seen from Excelsior III
| header1     =
| label1      = Duration
| data1       = 1959–1960 (three jumps)
| header2     =
| label2      = Places
| data2       = [[Stratosphere]] over the New Mexico desert
| header3     =
| label3      = Purpose
| data3       = Test of parachute for high altitude falls
| header4     =
| label4      = Vehicle
| data4       = Helium balloon with open gondola (the aeronaut was wearing a pressure suit)
| header5     =
| label5      = Aeronaut
| data5       = [[Joseph Kittinger|Joe Kittinger]] (Captain, USAF)
| header6     = 
| label6      = Records
| data6       = (Last jump, 16 August 1960):<br />Altitude: {{convert|19.47|mi|km|abbr=on}}<br />Speed: {{Convert|614|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}<br />Duration: 13 m 45 s <!-- If broken, please add: <br />(Stood until... ) ...all may not be broken at the same time-->
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}}

'''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 record]]s for the longest parachute [[Drogue parachute|drogue fall]], the highest parachute jump, and the fastest speed by a human through the atmosphere. He held the latter two of these records for 52 years, until they were broken by [[Felix Baumgartner]] of the [[Red Bull Stratos]] project in 2012,<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.redbullstratos.com/the-mission/world-record-jump/|title = World Record Jump {{!}} Red Bull Stratos|date = 2012-10-17|access-date = 2015-08-16|website = Red Bull Stratos|last = |first = }}</ref> though he still holds the world record for longest time in free fall.