Browse a gallery of the U.S. Air Force's high-altitude balloon experiments and the researchers, scientists, and test pilots who made them possible.

But before you consider sneaking off with your partner for a rendezvous among the clouds, let's dive into the legality of this high-altitude romance. TL;DR: Quick Takeaways on the Mile High ...

As you can see in the accompanying video, the Kittinger jumps were part of an Air Force project to test multi-stage parachutes made for high-altitude ejections. This was dangerous testing.

The test was intended to build on a successful 12-kilometer-altitude vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) test performed in June 2024. SAST published results and footage from the June test ...