Glider That Could Reach the Edge of Space Tested

An experimental glider that could eventually reach the edge of space without the power of an engine had a successful first test flight over Oregon this week, winning applause on Thursday from Airbus, a major backer of the project.

The manned glider, dubbed Perlan 2, reached an altitude of 5,000 feet, in a proof-of-concept test ahead of next year's planned record-breaking journey to the stratosphere.

"This first flight is a milestone and we're very impressed," Allen McArtor, chairman of Airbus North America, told Reuters on Thursday after he traveled to Oregon to watch the test.

To start its flight, the Perlan 2 is towed behind a motorized aircraft but once airborne it is able to harness the energy of the wind to gain speed and altitude, said Ed Warnock, CEO of the Perlan Project, a non-profit organization run by a volunteers.

Next year, the Perlan Project plans to launch the glider near from the Andes mountains in Argentina, which should allow the craft to ride atmospheric waves to heights that researchers are only beginning to understand, Warnock said.

"We used to believe the stratosphere was flat, without a lot of weather, but it turns out that's not entirely true," he said. "The largest waves of wind on the planet go up to the stratosphere."

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