After ham and eggs one night last week, Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger, 31, drove up to a 2 a.m. rendezvous in the clear, cold New Mexico desert and methodically climbed into one of the strangest costumes ever worn by man. First he put on two suits of insulated, porous underwear, then a partial-pressure suit, heavy, quilted long underwear, standard Air Force flying suit, heavy G.I. socks, electrically heated socks, heavy woolen socks, rubberized boots (called Li'l Abners), nylon gloves, high-altitude pressure gloves, electrically heated flying gloves, glass-faced space helmet. At 3:30 a.m. he lay down on a tarpaulin...
ARMED FORCES: Descent to the Future
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