Retired Lt. Col. David G. Simons, a physician and researcher who reached nearly 102,000 feet during 1957 balloon flight on Project Manhigh II to study the effects of high-altitude flight, died April 5 at age 87. His work helped pave the way for manned spaceflight. Simons sat in a small capsule attached to a balloon for more than 32 hours during the record 101,516 feet flight, for which he was featured on the cover of Life magazine. For Manhigh I, then-Capt. Joseph Kittinger reached 97,000 feet on June 2, 1957, and, on Oct. 8, 1958, Lt. Clifton McClure reached 98,850 feet for Manhigh III. Shortly after entering the Air Force in 1947, Simons served as project officer for animal studies on V-2 rocket flights. He was inducted into the New Mexico International Space Hall of Fame in 1987. (See New York Times report; The Covington News report; New Mexico Museum of Space History article; National Museum of the US Air Force Manhigh fact sheet)
In the wake of a major Chinese military shakeup, the head of U.S. Space Command warned of China’s “breathtakingly fast” advances in space during visits to Japan and South Korea. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting’s trip to the Indo-Pacific is his first overseas visit since taking command of SPACECOM in January.