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Jim Payne and Morgan Sandercock piloted today’s
flight, which was the first of many for the
Airbus Perlan Mission II team as it prepares to
soar the aircraft to the edge of space in Argentina in 2016. The Perlan 2 is a
pressurized sailplane designed to ride air
currents that, in certain mountainous regions
near the north and south poles, can reach into
the stratosphere. Next year’s flights are
expected to reach 90,000 feet, exceeding even
the altitudes achieved by the U-2 and the SR-71.
Despite having no engine, the glider’s true flight speed
at that altitude will be more than 400 mph and the air
density will be less than two percent of what it is at
sea level. The crew will breathe pure oxygen provided by
a rebreather system, similar to what astronauts use in
space.
In
addition to its two-person crew, the aircraft carries
scientific instruments to provide new insight into
climate change and our upper atmosphere. Because it
lacks an engine, Perlan 2 can explore the edge of space
without polluting the atmosphere it will study, opening
up human knowledge on several fronts:
•
Understanding Weather – What happens at the highest
levels of the stratosphere impacts weather around the
globe, and Perlan 2 will be able to directly observe
important atmospheric phenomena that previously have
only been speculated about.
•
Predicting Climate Change – Perlan 2 will collect and
share data with atmospheric scientists worldwide, to
improve climate models and more accurately predict
climate change and its potential solutions.
•
Diagnosing the Ozone Layer – Perlan 2 can take untainted
air samples from the stratosphere to measure the levels
of ozone-damaging chemicals and assess whether the ozone
layer is replenishing or still depleting.
•
Future of Aviation – Many of the high-altitude weather
phenomena Perlan 2 will encounter have implications for
aircraft performance and safety, especially as
commercial aviation strives to operate aircraft at
higher altitudes.
•
Future of Space Travel – Perlan 2 will operate in
atmospheric conditions roughly similar to those on Mars,
providing insight into how wingborne aircraft could
operate above the Martian surface.
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