The First Men in Space

A man in a space suit is standing at the edge of an open gondola; the earth is 30 kilometers below him. He leans forward, presses off and falls and falls and falls. Today, no one knows the name of this death-defying free-jumper. And yet Joseph Kittinger and his colleague David Simons were the first human beings in space. In the late 1950s they soared for hours above the atmosphere, saw the curvature of the earth and plunged with unimaginable speed through the clouds. This film reveals the engineers’ technical achievements and shows how their findings are being used to this day.

TEAM
Written and directed by: Daniel Münter // Camera: Steffen Bohn // Sound: Stefan Nowak // Film editor: Marc Schubert // Music: Stefan Döring // Production manager: Oliver Gontram // Executive producer: Thomas Weidenbach // Commissioning editors: Gabriele Conze, Andrea Ernst, Susanne Schettler

AWARDS
– Best Documentary, Vedere la Scienza Festival, Milano/Italy