From: richie086@gmail.com   
      
   Hey..  I have a question.   
      
   would the use of balloons to lift some sort of delivery vehicle or   
   rocket into the very upper atmosphere work?  has this ever been attempted?   
      
      
   What got me thinking about this was a show about a US Air Force captain   
   (joke kittenger) back in 1960, riding a balloon up to 100,000 feet and   
   then jumping off of the platform he was sitting on.   I understand he   
   was wearing a space suit and you would very easily die if exposed at   
   such elevations.  After seeing the movie that was taken from a film   
   camera attached to him somehow, it's very obvious that he was at the   
   very edge of space.  Isn't half the cost of putting the space shuttle up   
     or any rocket into orbit due to how much the fuel costs?   
      
   I'm sure this has been thought of, it's just a question I've always   
   wondered about and the people here seem a lot more willing to answer   
   questions rather than on some other groups where everyone is too busy   
   flaming everyone else rather than helping others :)   
      
   Richie086   
      
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