1962: For two days, Capt Joseph A. Kittinger, Jr., and William C. White, a Navy civilian astronomer, flew the USAF’s Stargazer balloon to 82,000 feet in an 18-hour, 30-minute flight above southwestern New Mexico. A telescope on top of the gondola provided White with one of the clearest celestial views ever seen by an astronomer. (As seen on display at the NMUSAF)