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I think the issue was that it would've been easy for him to get into a fatal, uncontrolled horizontal spin - which he almost did, but recovered - so it wasn't just a matter of falling. He had to maintain control the whole time, manoeuvre into a position to maximize his velocity (since he was trying to break Mach 1), and survive.
They were also checking the viability of his space suit, to see if astronauts could survive jumps from those altitudes if necessary. So, something useful besides the basic publicity.
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The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi 
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