Joseph Kittinger hand signed 25.5 x 20 cm photo. Expertise by Beckett with its unique QRcode number which is affixed to the signed photo and which is listed on the Beckett website. Joseph Kittinger held the world record for the highest skydive—102,800 feet (31.3 km)—from 1960 until 2012. On August 16, 1960, Kittinger made the high-altitude jump at 102,800 feet (31,300 m). Towing a small drogue parachute for initial stabilization, he fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of 614 miles per hour (988 km/h) before opening his parachute at 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Incurring yet another equipment malfunction, the pressurization for his right glove malfunctioned during the ascent and his right hand swelled to twice its normal size, but he rode the balloon up to 102,800 feet before stepping off