Assignment of a Lifetime: Riding in a U-2 Spy Plane at the Edge of Space

Back in 2010, San Francisco-based photographer Christopher Michel received a once-in-a-lifetime photo assignment from the US Navel Institute: to ride in the back seat of a U-2 spy plane at the “edge of space.” At the plane’s cruising and intelligence-gathering altitude of 70,000 feet above the ground, temperatures outside the plane fall to 70 degrees below zero.

In the 3-minute video above, Michel shares a behind-the-scenes account of what the experience was like, along with a selfie he snapped in the air using a GoPro camera. You can find Michel’s photos from the assignment on his website.

(via Seeker Stories via Laughing Squid)