Topic: Airbus Perlan Mission II high-altitude glider
SpaceAholic Member
Posts: 4437 From: Sierra Vista, Arizona Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-02-2016 09:32 AM
By pushing the atmospheric envelope at the edge of Earth's stratosphere, the Airbus Perlan 2 glider's next tests should pave the way for both future aviation on Mars and Earth-based commercial hypersonic aircraft, reports Forbes.
The Perlan 2 sailplane/glider, which had its first test flight last September in Oregon, will attempt to reach its optimal cruising altitude of 90,000 feet as early as this coming June in Argentina, says [Allan] McArtor, [the Chairman and CEO of Airbus Group, Inc.]. When it does, it will be the highest that any winged vehicle, powered or otherwise has gone.
As part of the Perlan Project — a nonprofit supported by title sponsor Airbus Group and others; the glider's two-man crew will scientifically sample the stratosphere at altitudes exceeding those of even the U-2 and the SR-71 spy planes.
McArtor stresses that Perlan 2 will offer NASA and other space agencies what he terms the first real in situ flight data in an environment analogous to Mars' own atmosphere.
posted 02-02-2016 09:32 AM
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