Space Men

Before astronauts, there were “space men”—brave souls who, at the dawn of the space age, used high altitude balloons to venture into the upper reaches where Earth's atmosphere meets the lowest levels of outer space, testing the physical and psychological endurance of humans. Directed by Amanda Pollak and narrated by Michael Murphy, this PBS-aired American Experience documentary describes the "self-inflicted madness" of balloon flights that rose up to 100,000 feet above Earth, with fliers being monitored by dedicated aviation medicine physicians. On the ground, fliers were subjected to punishing tests of G-force acceleration and deceleration, including abrupt stops at high speeds, which resulted in shattered teeth and broken bones. Funding for these programs was sporadic, and manned space flights weren't really considered necessary, or even respectable. In fact, the public, Congress, and the military showed little interest until things changed overnight in 1957, when the Russians threw down the space race gauntlet by launching the satellite Sputnik. Almost immediately, the United States would begin a catch-up plan with the Mercury program. Unfortunately, visionaries and heroic fliers like Dr. John Paul Stapp and Joseph Kittinger would never receive the acclaim of the "Mercury 7" astronauts. Combining rare footage with testimony from surviving early space men, this is an engaging look at pioneering high-altitude flight, with incongruous images of men hurtling through space in something resembling a glorified phone booth. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)