 A balloon flight on May 4, 1961, took American Victor Prather and another pilot 113,000 feet, scraping the edge of space. The goal was to test NASA's new space suit. The flight was a success. The suit worked beautifully. As Prather descended back to Earth, he opened the faceplate of his helmet when he was low enough to breathe on his own, ostensibly to catch some fresh air. He landed in the ocean as planned, where a helicopter was to pull him safely.