Overview: On an August morning in 1960, Air Force Captain Joseph Kittinger stepped out of a helium balloon 20 miles above Earth, hurtling down at over 400 miles per hour. Space Men tells the little-known story of the men whose scientific experiments laid critical groundwork for NASAs manned space program, a decade before President Kennedy committed the nation to sending a man to the moon.

DVD Verdict: In the 1950s and early '60s, a small band of high-altitude pioneers exposed themselves to the extreme forces of the space age long before NASA's acclaimed Mercury 7 would make headlines. Though largely forgotten today, balloonists were the first to venture into the frozen near-vacuum on the edge of our world, exploring the very limits of human physiology and human ingenuity in this lethal realm.

Ergo, before the days of NASA, scientists and researchers at the U.S. Air Force were testing the limits of how high man could fly. Though largely forgotten today, those aforementioned balloonists were the first to venture into the frozen near-vacuum on the edge of our world, exploring the very limits of human physiology and human ingenuity in this lethal realm.

American Experience's latest expose, 'Space Men' (which premiered March 1st PBS), tells the little known story of the men whose scientific experiments in the stratosphere laid critical groundwork for NASA's manned space program, helping to make the very idea of space travel a reality. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.