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.

• Insignia Films
• Michael Murphy
• Burkhard Bilger
• Scott Carpenter
• Francis French
• John Glenn
• Cooper Gordon
• Gus Grissom
• Wally Schirra