Aeronautical Exploration & Atmospheric Research.
Pushing the
frontiers of flight by soaring to the edge of space, Airbus Perlan Mission II
is going to fly a non-powered sailplane (glider) up to 90,000 feet (28,000
metres), breaking all wing-borne altitude records for sustained flight by
manned aircraft and harvest invaluable data about our atmosphere and ozone
The mission
will bring back information that will advance aerospace technology and
aerodynamics research.
Airbus
Perlan Mission II is seeking additional sponsors and partners, for our
educational programmes, for media production and istribution, and also to
further research, development and innovation in aerospace engineering and
atmospheric science.
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The Perlan Project Story.
From
1992-98, Perlan’s founder and NASA test pilot Einar Enevoldson collected
evidence on a weather phenomenon that no one at the time even knew existed:
stratospheric mountain waves. Like huge
ocean waves, as shown in the photo below, these waves of air are kicked off by
strong winds blowing over the tops of high mountain ranges like the Andes. These waves of air then shoot straight up
towards space. As a pilot, Einar quickly
figured out that you can use a glider to ride those waves all the way up to
near space. And he set out to prove
it. This became The Perlan Project.
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In 1998
meteorologist Dr. Elizabeth Austin teamed up with Einar and expanded upon his
findings proving that it is the stratospheric polar night jet and the polar
vortex that are the principal factors in creating these mountains waves that
could reach up to 130,000 feet into the middle stratosphere.
In 1999
Steve Fossett, the record-setting aviator, sailor, adventurer and first person
to fly solo non-stop around the world in a balloon, heard about it and decided
to fund The Project and become one of its pilots.
On August
30, 2006 Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson smashed the existing altitude
record for gliders by soaring up to 50,671 feet (15,460m) in a standard glider
using these stratospheric waves of air.
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And they
could have gone even higher!
The problem
was that their pressure suits expanded so much inside the cabin that they
couldn’t move the flight controls and safely control the aircraft anymore. So
they came down, and quickly decided they needed a custom glider with a
pressurized cabin.
In 2014 Airbus Group became the partner and title sponsor
of Airbus Perlan Mission II.
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Perlan 2 Aircraft.
The Perlan
2 is designed to fly up to 90,000 feet, in a near vacuum where air density is
less than 2% of sea level. Basically,
it’s like flying on Mars. At such low
air density the glider must fly almost supersonic just to create enough lift to
stay up. And so, the Perlan 2 has a new
and highly efficient aerodynamic design.
(For aerospace engineers, we had to design an aircraft that could
withstand flutter, endure high speed Mach effects, stay away from the Coffin
Corner, etc.)
The Perlan 2 has a pressurized cabin, just like
airliners, so the pilots don’t need to wear pressure suits. This is a first in glider design. It has an oxygen breathing system modeled off
of what scuba divers use, with oxygen tanks, CO2 scrubbers and
rebreather systems. It has a fully
electronic cockpit, using some of the same advanced avionics gear used in the
world’s most advanced aircraft. And, it
has a science payload bay so that scientists can run high-altitude atmospheric
experiments.
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Aerodynamics & Meteorology.
Perlan
2 will harvest meteorological data which cannot be obtained any other way.
Rockets and balloons can reach these altitudes easily but neither can stay in
position. Rockets zoom past into space; balloons drift with the wind. Satellites and other remote measurements
cannot take physical samples or sample precise altitudes. Airbus Perlan Mission II provides:
1. RESEARCH AIRCRAFT FOR PREVIOUSLY UNREACHABLE ALTITUDES: The stratosphere is generally
inaccessible to conventional aircraft, and so most research studies rely on
ground-based instruments to gather data. Perlan 2 is only way to routinely fly
into and study the stratosphere directly.
Perlan 2 opens up the ability for direct air sampling and observations of
the stratosphere for research into high altitude meteorology, high altitude
aerodynamics, high-altitude physiology, and materials engineering and testing.
2. INCREASED UNDERSTANDING OF OUR
ATMOSPHERE: Using Perlan 2, we will harvest data from the stratosphere where many strange
phenomena have been observed but never understood. Things like invisible clouds, strange
electrical flashes called red sprites, blue lightning that strikes upwards
instead of downwards.
3. INCREASED UNDERSTANDING OF
CLIMATE CHANGE: The stratosphere has major influences on global climate
change. For example, it’s where the
ozone layer is, which is critical to the protection of humans and other life
forms. Using data from the glider and state-of-the
art computer weather models, we will be able to research and learn about the
relationship between the ozone layer and stratospheric mountain waves and the
Polar Vortex (and even other phenomena such as gravity waves). This data will allow us to unravel the
relationship between these phenomena and how they affect ozone quantities over
the entire globe. We will also be able
to research other weather phenomena, such as complex deep cold frontal
circulations, which will help us better differentiate between man-made and natural
global warming.
4. PAVES THE WAY FOR MORE HIGH
ALTITUDE FLIGHTS AND FUTURE FLIGHT ON MARS: Perlan Mission I discovered that unlike the
troposphere where today’s aircraft fly, there are sharp horizontal temperature changes
(gradients) in the stratosphere that could flummox some autopilots while in
Mach hold or disturb a high response electronic jet engine controller, either
of which could cause catastrophic results. Airbus Perlan Mission II will enable
scientists to analyze the stratosphere in great detail to determine the extent
of these sharp temperature changes to aid in aerodynamic research for future high
altitude flights.
5. ESTABLISHING
HIGH ALTITUDE BOUNDARIES FOR LIFE: We now know that
biological life exists high up in the stratosphere. We will collect biological
samples and break new ground in understanding the concentration, nature, and
viability of these biological particles and establish what are the high
altitude boundaries for life on Earth.
This can also be used to assess the likelihood that other planets can
support life.
Education.
Inspiring future generations
to pursue careers in math, science and research.
We are developing partnerships
with schools and museums to further math and science education using our
flights and aircraft production to partner teachers with field researchers and
to involve students in practical applications of theoretical studies. So far, we have partnered with the Louisiana School of Math, Science and the Arts, where we will create educational materials for 8,000 grade school students and are creating field research opportunities for teachers at Wake Forest University and the University of Nevada–Desert Research Institute.
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Airbus Perlan Mission II Pilots.
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Jim
Payne, Chief Pilot.
Jim has 42 years pilot experience. In 1983 he got his gold and diamond altitude
legs in a SGS 1-26 in the Tehachapi Wave. As a staff member at the US Air Force
Test Pilot School he was part of the Soar Eagle Project flying a Grob 103 with
a pressure suit system where he earned a Triple Lennie pin for a flight to
42,200 feet. With the advent of GPS flight recorders.
Jim pioneered wave speed
records. For many years he held the fastest world record at 247km/hr (154 mph),
a record that was listed in the 2006 Guinness World Records.
In recent years
Jim has used the wave to win numerous OLC championships including the Classic
OLC World Championship in 2008 and 2012, the North American/USA in 2007, 2008,
2009, and 2012 plus the Speed OLC World Championship in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011,
and 2012.
His furthest flight is 1,374 miles (2,210 km). Jim was awarded the 2001
Lilienthal medal winner (highest award given by the FAI for gliding) and is a
member of the Soaring Hall of Fame.
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Einar Enevoldson, Founder and Chairman of the Board at Perlan Project Inc.
Einar is a lifelong glider pilot, former jet fighter pilot in the USAF, and
exchange officer with the Royal Air Force. From 1968 until 1986 Einar was a
NASA research pilot at the Dryden Flight Research Center.
He was twice awarded
the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. Einar holds the current altitude record for a glider of 50,671 feet, which he set during Perlan Mission I.
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Morgan Sandercock, Pilot.
Morgan is a glider pilot from Australia and the chief flying instructor at the
Hunter Valley Gliding Club. Morgan has a degree in mechanical engineering and a
computer science degree.
Dennis Tito, Pilot.
Dennis earned a B.S. in astronautics and aeronautics from NYU College of
Engineering and a M.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institue in engineering
science. He began his career at NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory where he was
responsible for designing the trajectories for the mariner spacecraft missions
to Mars and Venus. On April 28, 2001, Tito made history by becoming the first
space tourist. Launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Tito served as a crewmember
of an eight-day Russian Soyuz mission to the International Space Station.
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Principal Meteorologist.
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Dr. Elizabeth Austin, Ph.D., Perlan Project Co-founder.
Dr. Elizabeth Austin,
Ph.D., is an active member of the American Meteorological Society and a member of
the Certified Consulting Meteorologists (CCM) board of directors. She is the
recipient of a Fulbright senior specialist award at the Laboratoire de Physique
de L’atmosphère, CNRS, Universitè de la Rèunion, Rèunion Island, France and the
distinguished teaching award at the four year Sierra Nevada College in Incline
Village, Nevada.
Her areas of specialty include mountain weather, mesoscale atmospheric
modeling, cloud and ice physics, education, and stratospheric mountain waves.
Elizabeth has lectured and taught courses and seminars on weather and weather
education all over the world. She is currently president of WeatherExtreme Ltd.
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The Airbus Perlan Mission II team thanks you for helping us reach the edge of spac
