Colonel Joseph William Kittinger II (born July 27, 1928) is a retired officer in the United States Air Force (USAF) and a Command Pilot. His initial operational assignment was in fighter aircraft, then he participated in the Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior high-altitude balloon flight projects from 1956 to 1960 and was the first man to fully witness the curvature of the Earth. He set a world record for the highest skydive: 102,800 feet (31.3 km) on August 16, 1960. In 1984, he was also the first man to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon.