Come Up and Get Me

by Kittinger, Joe; Ryan, Craig; Armstrong, Neil

• ISBN13: 9780826348043
• ISBN10: 0826348041
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-04-15
• Publisher: Univ of New Mexico Pr

Summary

By the time Kittinger was shot down in Vietnam in 1972, his Air Force career was already legendary. He had made a name for himself at Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo, New Mexico, as a test pilot who helped demonstrate that egress survival for pilots at high altitudes was possible in emergency situations. Ironically, Kittinger and his pre-astronaut colleagues would help propel Americans into space using the world's oldest flying machine-the balloon. Kittinger's work on Project Excelsior--which involved daring high-altitude bailout tests--earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross long before he earned a collection of medals in Vietnam. Despite the many accolades, Kittinger's proudest moment remains his free fall from 102,800 feet during which he achieved a speed of 614 miles per hour.

Author Biography

Craig Ryan is the author of Magnificent Failure: Free Fall from the Edge of Space and The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space. He lives in Portland, Oregon. In 1969 Ner Armstrong was the commander of Apollo 11, becoming the first man to land a craft on the moon and the first man to step on the lunar surface.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Prologue	p. xiii
The Gift of Adventure	p. 1
Ace of Spades	p. 15
Come Up and Get Me	p. 39
Escape from Near Space	p. 71
Combat	p. 105
Hanoi	p. 145
Home Skies	p. 183
Destination: Unknown; Fuel on Board: Zero	p. 211
Ballooning and Salooning	p. 231
Epilogue	p. 245
Awards and Honors	p. 249
Acknowledgments	p. 251
Index	p. 253
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