Login

7 September 1956: The first human flies above 100.000 feet

Captain Iven_Kincheloe60 years ago on 7 September 1956, American Test pilot Iven C. Kincheloe Jr. flew at more than 3.200 km/h (2.000 mp/h) and to a height of 38.5 km (126.200 feet), becoming the first human ever to fly above 100.000 feet with the Bell X-2 rocket-powered research airplane.

Although this altitude is less than half of what is considered the edge of space today according to FAI definition (Kármán Line, 100km/62mi), Kincheloe was immediately hailed as "The first of the spacemen" and "America's No. 1 Spaceman" back in the days and still represents a great achievement in astronautics!

Kincheloe and_F-104

Photo credit: National Museum of US Air Force

 

[Flickr set=72157670865922256]

Latest News

Global partners