Martin wrote, By the way, does David Simons qualify as the first man in space?
Martin may be right (as usual!) In August 1957 David Simons piloted a record-setting balloon flight to over 100,000 feet. This is nearly 19 miles high and just 2,800 ft less than Joe Kittinger achieved in 1960. Joe jumped out of his gondola almost as soon a he got up there, but David remained aloft all night. Then in 1961 Commander Malcolm Ross and Lieutenant Commander Vic Prather rose from the deck of an American aircraft carrier to reach what is still the world record height of 113,740 feet. And now, Andy Elson and Colin Prescot aim to fly on an open deck to 132,000 feet, or 25 miles, where less than 1% of the Earth's atmosphere remains and pressure is 150 times less than at sea level. I'm sure lots of digital photography will be involved! Off topic again - Sorry. I won't bore you any more with this fascinating stuff. Regards, John Hill =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
