# Project Manhigh
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{{Short description|1950s U.S. Air Force aero-medical research program}}
thumb|upright|Manhigh II balloon gondola displayed at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
right|thumb|As displayed in 2018
'''Project Manhigh''' was a pre-[Space Age](/source/Space_Age) military project that took men in [balloons](/source/Balloon_(aircraft)) to the middle layers of the [stratosphere](/source/stratosphere), funded as an aero-medical research program, though seen by its designers as a stepping stone to space. It was conducted by the [United States Air Force](/source/United_States_Air_Force) between 1955 and 1958.[{{cite web |title=Space Men: They were the first to brave the unknown (Transcript) |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/spacemen/ |website=American Experience |publisher=PBS |access-date=2 January 2019 |date=1 March 2016}}]
==History==
The project [started in December 1955](/source/History_of_the_United_States_(1945%E2%80%931964)) to study the effects of [cosmic rays](/source/cosmic_rays) on humans. Three balloon flights to the [stratosphere](/source/stratosphere) were made during the program:
* Manhigh I to {{cvt|29,500|m}}, by [Captain](/source/Captain_(land_and_air)) [Joseph W. Kittinger](/source/Joseph_W._Kittinger) on June 2, 1957. The balloon was launched from [South St. Paul Airport](/source/South_St._Paul_Airport) 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.[{{cite journal |last=Stafford |first=Ned |date=July 3, 2010 |title=David G. Simons: Set a record with a balloon flight 19 miles above Earth |url=http://www.dgs.eu.com/fileadmin/documents/Obituary_DGS_BMJ.pdf |url-status=dead |department=Obituaries |journal=[British Medical Journal](/source/British_Medical_Journal) |volume=341 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604012009/http://www.dgs.eu.com/fileadmin/documents/Obituary_DGS_BMJ.pdf |archive-date=June 4, 2016 |access-date=February 27, 2012}}] With the pilot and the scientific payload, the Manhigh II gondola had a total mass of {{convert|748|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. At maximum altitude, the balloon expanded to a diameter of {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on}} with a volume of over {{convert|85000|m3|cuyd|abbr=on}}.
* Manhigh III to {{cvt|29,900|m}}, by [Lieutenant](/source/Lieutenant) [Clifton M. McClure](/source/Clifton_M._McClure) on October 8, 1958[[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jan-22-mn-56594-story.html Clifton McClure; Rode Balloon to Edge of Space]]
Candidates for the Manhigh project were put through a series of physical and psychological tests that became the standard for qualifying astronauts for the [Project Mercury](/source/Project_Mercury), America's first crewed orbital space program.