SherbyNet - /page/wikibook/entry.mu

Micron Document

<!DOCTYPE html>

<title>Project Manhigh</title>

</head>

<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Manhigh</span></span>

</h1>

</header>

<p><b>Project Manhigh</b> was a pre-<a href="Space_Age" title="Space Age">Space Age</a> military project that took men in <a href="Balloon_(aircraft)" class="mw-redirect" title="Balloon (aircraft)">balloons</a> to the middle layers of the <a href="Stratosphere" title="Stratosphere">stratosphere</a>, funded as an aero-medical research program, though seen by its designers as a stepping stone to space. It was conducted by the <a href="United_States_Air_Force" title="United States Air Force">United States Air Force</a> between 1955 and 1958.<sup id="cite_ref-AmExp_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-AmExp-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2></div>

<p>The project <a href="History_of_the_United_States_(1945%E2%80%931964)" title="History of the United States (1945–1964)">started in December 1955</a> to study the effects of <a href="Cosmic_rays" class="mw-redirect" title="Cosmic rays">cosmic rays</a> on humans. Three balloon flights to the <a href="Stratosphere" title="Stratosphere">stratosphere</a> were made during the program:

</p>

<ul><li>Manhigh I to 29,500 m (96,800 ft), by <a href="Captain_(land_and_air)" class="mw-redirect" title="Captain (land and air)">Captain</a> <a href="Joseph_W._Kittinger" class="mw-redirect" title="Joseph W. Kittinger">Joseph W. Kittinger</a> on June 2, 1957. The balloon was launched from <a href="South_St._Paul_Airport" class="mw-redirect" title="South St. Paul Airport">South St. Paul Airport</a> and the flight was cut short due to one of the capsule's valves being installed backwards which vented the oxygen supply outside, but not before reaching a record altitude of 96,784 feet.<sup id="cite_ref-AmExp_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-AmExp-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li>

<li>Manhigh II to 30,942 m (101,516 ft), by <a href="Major_(rank)" title="Major (rank)">Major</a> <a href="David_G._Simons" title="David G. Simons">David G. Simons</a> on August 19–20, 1957, launched from Portsmouth Mine in Crosby, Minnesota, for a 32-hour flight that included a set of 25 experiments and observations, and earned Simons a <a href="Life_(magazine)" title="Life (magazine)"><i>Life</i></a> magazine cover spot.<sup id="cite_ref-AmExp_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-AmExp-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> With the pilot and the scientific payload, the Manhigh II gondola had a total mass of 748 kg (1,649 lb). At maximum altitude, the balloon expanded to a diameter of 60 m (200 ft) with a volume of over 85,000 m<sup>3</sup> (111,000 cu yd).</li>

<li>Manhigh III to 29,900 m (98,100 ft), by <a href="Lieutenant" title="Lieutenant">Lieutenant</a> Clifton M. McClure on October 8, 1958<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul>

<p>Candidates for the Manhigh project were put through a series of physical and psychological tests that became the standard for qualifying astronauts for the <a href="Project_Mercury" title="Project Mercury">Project Mercury</a>, America's first crewed orbital space program.<sup id="cite_ref-AmExp_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-AmExp-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p><p>Similar projects in which men in a gondola reached near-space altitudes were performed by Swiss physicist <a href="Auguste_Piccard" title="Auguste Piccard">Auguste Piccard</a> and Paul Kipfer, reaching 15,785 m (51,788 ft) in 1931, <a href="USSR-1" title="USSR-1">USSR-1</a> piloted by <a href="Georgy_Prokofiev" title="Georgy Prokofiev">Georgy Prokofiev</a> reaching 18,500 m (60,700 ft) in 1933, and <a href="Osoaviakhim-1" title="Osoaviakhim-1">Osoaviakhim-1</a> reaching 22,000 m (72,000 ft) in 1934 as well as <a href="Explorer_II" title="Explorer II">Explorer II</a> reaching 22,066 m (72,395 ft) in 1935.

</p>

<ul><li><a href="John_Stapp" title="John Stapp">John Stapp</a></li>

<li><a href="Project_Excelsior" title="Project Excelsior">Project Excelsior</a>, follow-on flights in 1959 and 1960</li>

<li><a href="Project_Adam" title="Project Adam">Project Adam</a>, a contemporary plan using Manhigh hardware by the United States Army</li>

<li><a href="Flight_altitude_record" title="Flight altitude record">Flight altitude record</a></li></ul>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>

/* start https://en.wikipedia.org/ */

.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}

/* end https://en.wikipedia.org/ */

</style><div class="reflist">

/* start https://en.wikipedia.org/ */

.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("./mw/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("./mw/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("./mw/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("./mw/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}

/* end https://en.wikipedia.org/ */

</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/spacemen/">"Space Men: They were the first to brave the unknown (Transcript)"</a>. <i>American Experience</i>. PBS. 1 March 2016<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2 January</span> 2019</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFStafford2010" class="citation journal cs1">Stafford, Ned (July 3, 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160604012009/http://www.dgs.eu.com/fileadmin/documents/Obituary_DGS_BMJ.pdf">"David G. Simons: Set a record with a balloon flight 19 miles above Earth"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Obituaries. <i><a href="British_Medical_Journal" class="mw-redirect" title="British Medical Journal">British Medical Journal</a></i>. <b>341</b>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dgs.eu.com/fileadmin/documents/Obituary_DGS_BMJ.pdf">the original</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> on June 4, 2016<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">February 27,</span> 2012</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jan-22-mn-56594-story.html">Clifton McClure; Rode Balloon to Edge of Space</a></span>

</li>

</ol></div></div>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2></div>

<ul><li><cite id="CITEREFKennedy2007" class="citation book cs1">Kennedy, Gregory P. (2007). <i>Touching Space: The Story of Project Manhigh</i>. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Books. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0-7643-2788-9</bdi>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFRyan1995" class="citation book cs1">Ryan, Craig (1995). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/preastronautsman00ryan"><i>The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space</i></a></span>. Naval Institute Press. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>1-55750-732-5</bdi>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFSimonsSchanche1960" class="citation book cs1">Simons, David G.; Schanche, Don A. (1960). <i>Manhigh</i>. Avon Books.</cite></li></ul>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2></div>

<ul><li>Details of <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/1957/FMN-19570602.htm">Manhigh I</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/1957/CBY-19570819.htm">Manhigh II flight</a>, and <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/1958/HMN-19581008.htm">Manhigh III</a> at stratocat.com.ar</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/spacemen/">Space Men</a> (<i><a href="American_Experience" title="American Experience">American Experience</a></i> episode)</li></ul></div><div><div class="zim-footer">

This article is issued from <a class="external text" title="Last edited on 2025-08-01" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/?title=Project_Manhigh&oldid=1303643775">Wikipedia</a>. The text is available under <a class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0</a> unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

</div>

</div></div>

</div>

</main>

</div>

</body></html>